Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to report the long-term outcomes of uveitis-associated optic disc and epiretinal neovascularization (NV) treated with immunomodulatory therapy alone.
Methods
This is a retrospective, multi-center chart review conducted at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL) and San Raffaele Scientific Institute (Milan, Italy) from 2014 to 2021 of patients with optic disc and/or retinal neovascularization associated with uveitis. The data collected included age at the time of NV detection, gender, medications, and follow-up period. Imaging was reviewed if available.
Results
Eight eyes of six patients were identified. The mean age was 22 years (range 10–52 years); the median follow-up was 3 years (range 6 months to 7 years). All eyes presented with active NV at the time of uveitis onset; 7 eyes were treatment-naïve. None had clinical or angiographic evidence of retinal ischemia. All patients received a variable combination of local steroids, systemic steroids, and systemic immunosuppression. Complete resolution of uveitic NV occurred in all eyes within a median of 8 weeks (ranging 2–20 weeks) from initiating treatment. No NV recurrence was noted.
Conclusion
Immunomodulatory therapy alone may be successful in achieving long-term control of uveitis-associated NV, without the use of destructive measures.
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Data availability
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
Code availability
Not applicable.
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Funding
No funding was received for conducting this study. This study was supported by an Unrestricted Departmental Grant from Research to Prevent Blindness.
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All authors contributed to the study conception, design, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Ethical approval was waived by the ethics committee/institutional review board at Northwestern University in view of the retrospective nature of the study, and all the procedures being performed were part of the routine care.
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This is a retrospective study with information that is anonymized and submission does not include identifiable information.
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Zaguia, F., Marchese, A., Cicinelli, M.V. et al. Long-term success treating inflammatory epiretinal neovascularization with immunomodulatory therapy. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 260, 553–559 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-021-05396-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-021-05396-6