Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with uveitis in an emergency eye care center in Brazil Características clínicas e epidemiológicas das uveítes em um serviço de urgência oftalmológica no Brasil

Potential sight-threatening complications may occur if ocular in flam mation is not diagnosed and treated early in the course of disease. However, initial evaluation of patients with uveitis is frequently conducted in nonspecialized centers because intraocular inflammation usually produces nonspecific symptoms such as pain, photophobia, redness, blurred vision, and floaters, which may easily be confused with other disorders. In Brazil, uveitis is one of the main diagnoses in patients who attend institutions for visual rehabilitation and accounts for up to 7.4% visits to emergency eye care units.. The etiology of uveitis can be broadly categorized into infectious and noninfectious, and it is frequently associated with systemic disease. Several studies have investigated the epidemiology of uveitis, showing variations in etiology according to geographical region, gender, ethnicity, age, social aspects, and immunological factors. However, most of these studies have included patients from tertiary uveitis centers and may have been influenced by selection bias. Globally, anterior uveitis accounts for the majority of cases. However, posterior uveitis is the most common presentation in Brazilian patients, with toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis being the most frequent identifiable cause. Identification of clinical and epidemiological patterns of uveitis is crucial to devise strategies for preventing late diagnosis and facilitating prompt treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with uveitis who visited an emergency eye care center.