Pattern of Uveitis at a Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center, North-West Ethiopia

Abstract Objective: Uveitis can potentially cause irreversible ocular damage and blindness and knowing its characteristic clinical features is essential in making an accurate diagnosis and starting early appropriate treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical presentations of uveitis at the University of Gondar Tertiary Eye Care and Training center, North-West Ethiopia.METHODS: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted at University of Gondar tertiary eye care and training center from August 2017 to July 2018. Study patients underwent complete ophthalmic evaluation and relevant ancillary tests. Data was collected using a data extraction format and entered in to SPSS version 20 and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 105 eyes of 82 patients were studied. The mean age was 33.8±14.8 years (Range 7 to 80). Half of the participants (41/82) were in the age group between 19 and 39 years. Fifty three (65%) were male and uveitis was unilateral in 72%. Anterior uveitis was the commonest, 57%, followed by Intermediate uveitis 21.7%, pan uveitis 12% and posterior uveitis 10%. Twenty three percent of patients were bilaterally blind at presentation. Out of the 105 eyes involved with uveitis, 63% (66/105) were blind. Cataract was the commonest complication followed by ocular hypertension.CONCLUSION: This study showed that uveitis is prevalent in the working age group with significant number of blindness. Anterior uveitis was the commonest type of Uveitis and cataract was the commonest complication.