Bilateral simultaneous-onset nongranulomatous acute anterior uveitis: clinical presentation and etiology.

OBJECTIVE To describe the etiology and outcome of patients with simultaneous-onset nongranulomatous bilateral acute anterior uveitis. METHODS The medical records of patients who presented to a single tertiary care center with simultaneous-onset nongranulomatous bilateral acute anterior uveitis between January 1990 and May 2010 were retrospectively reviewed; the clinical presentation, results of diagnostic testing, and outcome data are described. RESULTS A total of 4288 new patients with uveitis were evaluated by the Uveitis Service at the University of Illinois at Chicago Eye and Ear Infirmary between January 1990 and May 2010. Of these new patients, 44 (1%) presented with simultaneous-onset nongranulomatous bilateral acute anterior uveitis. The most common etiologies were postinfectious or drug-induced uveitis (23 of 44 patients [52%]) and idiopathic uveitis (15 patients [34%]). Tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome, HLA-B27-associated uveitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and Kawasaki disease each made up fewer than 5% of diagnoses. Overall, this group of patients was younger than the entire cohort of new patients with uveitis who were evaluated during the same time period (P = .002). For 14 of the 15 patients with at least a year of follow-up (93%), the disease duration was limited (<3 months). Of these 14 patients, 7 (50%) developed recurrent disease, with an average time to first recurrence of 20 months (range, 7.5-40 months) after resolution of the initial inflammatory episode. CONCLUSIONS Simultaneous-onset nongranulomatous bilateral acute anterior uveitis is a rare clinical entity that is more common in younger patients and is most frequently associated with recent infection and/or systemic antibiotic use. Tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome should also be considered as a diagnosis. Diagnostic evaluation should include serum antistreptolysin-O titers, HLA-B27 antigen, and urine β2 microglobulin levels because these may reveal systemic disease that requires therapy.