Uveitis in Children: The Role of Biological Agents in Its Management

We aimed to determine medium and long-term effects of TNF-alpha inhibitors in patients with pediatric uveitis. This was a retrospective review of medical charts. Included were 50 patients (84 eyes). Mean age at diagnosis was 7.22 +/- 4.04 years. At baseline (time of initiation of biologic therapy), all patients had active uveitis. Complete control of uveitis was achieved in 84.52% (n = 71) of eyes, after a median of 3 months (IQR 2 months). Mean LogMAR BCVA at baseline was 0.23 +/- 0.44; it remained stable at 12 and 24 months. At baseline, 64% of patients were treated with oral corticosteroids, this decreased to 29.5% at 12 months (p = 0.001) and to 21.9% at 24 months (p < 0.001). Mean time to prednisone dose of <= 0.2 mg/kg/day was 8.1 +/- 2.02 months after baseline. A total of 40.5% of eyes were treated with topical steroids at baseline and this significantly decreased to 5.8% at 12 months. Multiple linear regression model was calculated to predict moderate and severe visual loss; only presenting visual acuity accounted for a unique variance in the model. In conclusion, TNF-alpha inhibitors achieved rapid disease control while enabling a remarkable steroid-sparing effect in children suffering from chronic uveitis. Presenting visual acuity was the sole predictor of moderate to severe visual loss.