To determine risk factors for intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation and glaucoma in children with nonjuvenile idiopathic arthritis-related uveitis and any IOP-related changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness.
Clinical data were collected from children attending a tertiary referral uveitis clinic between May 2010 and October 2012. We assigned 206 eyes of 103 children into 32 normal eyes, 108 normotensive uveitics (NU), 41 hypertensive uveitics (HU: raised IOP without glaucomatous disc), and 25 glaucomatous uveitics (GU: raised IOP with glaucomatous disc). Risk factors for raised IOP, glaucoma and steroid response (SR) were evaluated and RNFL thickness across groups was compared with determine changes related to raised IOP.
IOP elevation occurred in 40 patients (38.8%) or 66/174 eyes with uveitis (37.9%); and SR occurred in 35.1% of all corticosteroid-treated eyes. Chronic uveitis was a significant risk factor for raised IOP [odds ratio (OR)=9.28, P=0.001], glaucoma, and SR (OR=8.4, P<0.001). Higher peak IOP was also a risk factor for glaucoma (OR=1.4, P=0.003). About 70% of SR eyes were high responders (IOP increase >15 mm Hg from baseline), associated with younger age and corticosteroid injections. Although no significant RNFL thinning was detected between HU and NU eyes, significant thinning was detected in the inferior quadrant of GU (121.3±28.9 μm) compared with NU eyes (142.1±32.0 μm, P=0.043).
Children with chronic uveitis are at higher risk of raised IOP and glaucoma. Thinning of the inferior RNFL quadrant may suggest glaucomatous changes in uveitic children with raised IOP.