The prevalence of sight-threatening uveitis in Scotland

Aim: To identify and quantify the prevalence of patients with uveitis receiving systemic immunosuppression in Scotland. Methods: Anonymised data were prospectively collected on all patients with uveitis requiring systemic immunosuppression. Seven health boards participated over a 4-month period betw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of ophthalmology 2007-01, Vol.91 (1), p.33-36
Main Authors: Williams, G J, Brannan, S, Forrester, J V, Gavin, M P, Paterson-Brown, S P, Purdie, A T, Virdi, M, Olson, J A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Age Distribution
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Blindness - etiology
Child
Clinical Science - Scientific Report
Data collection
Female
Humans
Immunosuppression Therapy
Male
Medical personnel
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
National Health Service
NHS
Ophthalmology
Population
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Scotland - epidemiology
Sex Distribution
Uvea diseases
Uveitis - complications
Uveitis - epidemiology
Uveitis - immunology
Visual impairment
Workloads
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Summary:Aim: To identify and quantify the prevalence of patients with uveitis receiving systemic immunosuppression in Scotland. Methods: Anonymised data were prospectively collected on all patients with uveitis requiring systemic immunosuppression. Seven health boards participated over a 4-month period between 1 August 2005 and 30 November 2005. Results: 373 patients were identified, of whom 205 (55%) were female. The mean age was 46.4 (range 7–97 years). Using the data from the seven participating health boards, an estimated Scottish prevalence of 9 per 100 000 was calculated. Prevalence varied between 2 and 59 per 100 000. In National Health Service Grampian, all patients with uveitis, whether sight-threatening or not, are followed up at a specialist clinic. Extrapolating this figure to Scotland gives a prevalence of 25 per 100 000. Discussion: The data from National Health Service Grampian suggest that there is a significant shortfall in the number of patients identified by survey. If the “missing population” exists, then where are they? Some might be receiving appropriate treatment at non-specialist clinics, although simple under-reporting may play a part. Greater concern is for those patients receiving inappropriate treatment for their uveitis, or for those within the community who are either oblivious to or in self denial of their condition.
ISSN:0007-1161
1468-2079
DOI:10.1136/bjo.2006.101386