Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.

We studied 20 patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome. They represented 3.7% of referred patients with uveitis. American Indian ancestry appears to be the link to Oriental racial type. Five patients had a forme fruste retinal detachment. After extensive treatment with corticosteroids, detachments flattened within an average of two to three months. Anterior inflammation continued to persist chronically. Seven of our patients had retinal vasculitis. Pregnancy had a beneficial effect on disease activity. Those patients with diabetes mellitus and sickle cell hemoglobin did not have an adverse effect. Visual outcome was good; of 20 patients, 16 had visual ascuity of 6/21 (20/70) in at least one eye.