Acute anterior uveitis, arthritides and enteric antigens.

One hundred and fourteen patients with acute anterior uveitis were studied for the presence of the HLA-B27 tissue type, the prevalence of spondylitis and arthritis and the occurrence of gastro-intestinal and urogenital infections or diarrhoeal illness in the history. Eighty-seven (76%) were B27+ and 27 (24%) B27-. Forty-two (48%) of the B27+ group had ankylosing spondylitis (AS); 13 (30%) of them were females. Sacroilitis (SI) with no spinal involvement was present in 21 patients (24%), 13 (61%) males and 8 (38%) females. Peripheral arthritis occurred in 6 patients. Thus, 68 (78%) of the HLA-B27+ positive patients had inflammatory spinal and/or joint disease, compared with 1 (4%) of the HLA-B27- group (p less than 0.001). The AS diagnosis was unknown previous to our examination in 31% of the males and 54% of the females, and SI was undiscovered in 61% of the males and 62% of the females. The occurrence of acute enteric infections was significantly increased in the B27+ AAU group, compared with the B27- patients and the patients reported exacerbation of AAU in connection with episodes of diarrhoea. An increased occurrence of urogenital infections was shown only in co-comparison with the males of the B-27+ AAU group. Thirty-three out of 47 AAU patients assayed by enzyme immuno-assay (EIA) for the quantification of IgM, IgA and IgG antibodies against Klebsiella pneumoniae, E coli, and Proteus mirabilis had significantly raised antibody titres against one or more of the antibodies studied, as compared to 62 healthy controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)