Uveitis referral pattern in a Midwest University Eye Center.

We determined the referral pattern and visual prognosis for patients with uveitis at a tertiary university eye center in the Midwestern U.S. over a five-year period. A retrospective chart review was conducted on 853 patients seen in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DOVS) at Washington University and the Barnes Retina Institute (BRI) from 1990 to 1995. Recorded data on each patient included demographic information, anatomic diagnosis, etiologic diagnosis, pattern of uveitis, and best-corrected visual acuity (VA). Most patients originated from Missouri (65.3% [557/853]) and were Caucasian (88.4% [754/853]). There was an equal gender frequency (429 men, 424 women). The most frequent anatomic diagnosis was posterior uveitis (48.4% [414/853]), followed by anterior uveitis (22.3% [190/853]), panuveitis (18.4% [155/853]), and intermediate uveitis (10.9% [94/853]). An etiologic diagnosis was made in 69.3% (591/853) of the patients, with the most common diseases being cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinopathy, infectious endophthalmitis, pars planitis, multifocal choroiditis, and toxoplasmosis. The majority of uveitides presented with sudden onset (55.0% [469/853]) and lasted less than three months (51.9% [443/853]). A wide spectrum of uveitic disease is seen in a university eye center in the Midwest, including many cases with sudden-onset relatively short (<3 months) duration. The high frequency of posterior uveitis may be related to the appearance of newly recognized uveitic entities, such as multifocal choroiditis, birdshot retinochoroidopathy, and acute retinal necrosis.