Retinal detachment and uveitis at a tertiary center over 10 years: the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) Uveitis Survey Study Group

To evaluate the frequency, etiology, treatment, and visual prognosis of retinal detachment (RD) in patients with uveitis.

A retrospective review was performed in 707 consecutive patients (1042 eyes) with uveitis, of whom 97 (13.7%) (157 eyes [15.1%]) had RD.

There were 126 (12.1%) eyes with exudative retinal detachment (ERD), 16 (1.5%) with tractional retinal detachment (TRD), and 15 (1.4%) with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Panuveitis was most commonly associated with RD (144 (91.1%) eyes). Infectious causes were more common in RRD, and non-infectious etiologies were most common in ERD and TRD. Oral prednisone was the initial therapy in ERD. Additionally, in these cases, cyclosporine was prescribed most frequently (47.1% patients), followed by azathioprine (26.4% patients). Fourteen (87.5%) eyes with TRD and all RRD cases underwent surgery. In patients with ERD, the mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 1.1 ± 0.7 LogMAR at baseline and 0.6 ± 0.2 LogMAR at last visit (p = 0.001). In patients with TRD, mean BCVA was 0.7 ± 0.4 LogMAR at baseline and 0.6 ± 0.4 LogMAR at last visit (p = 0.056). In patients with RRD, mean BCVA was 1.6 ± 0.9 LogMAR at baseline and 20 1.3 ± 0.9 LogMAR at last visit (p = 0.185).

In Saudi Arabia, ERD is observed in 12.1% of the eyes with uveitis, and less than 2% of eyes had TRD or RRD. Visual prognosis is usually good after ERD. Infection is the most frequent cause of RRD associated with uveitis and the visual prognosis is poor.