Uveitis describes a group of intra-ocular inflammatory conditions, where etiology is diverse and may be characterized by inflammation of the uveal tract or indirect inflammation of adjacent tissues1. In his paper, A Long-Term Game Plan for Non-Infectious Uveitis, Sam S. Dahr, MD, reports that the majority of uveitis cases seen in daily practice are non-infectious and idiopathic in origin. This report estimates that the disease affects approximately 300,000 American adults and 22,000 American children. Of great concern for the young, is the lack of proper treatment in the early stages of the disease, which can be attributed to a poor visual outcome 2.
Proactive and effective management of non-infectious uveitis relies heavily upon developing a therapeutic strategy and a long-term plan, which may involve systemic therapy, patient counseling, close follow-up, dosing adjustments, combination therapy, and consultation with rheumatologists. In his report, however, Sam S. Dahr, MD, suggests that imaging metrics are “…more powerful than any blood test the rheumatologist can order to monitor response”; positioning ophthalmologists to “… bear the decision-making responsibility for these patients.” Many patients with non-infectious uveitis suffer “…inflammatory breakthroughs during systemic therapy, most of which tend to be fairly mild and treatable with topical, injected or …