Rheumatology-Ophthalmology Collaborative Uveitis Units may Improve the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approach of this Pathology: Experience from a Uveitis Unit in a Secondary Spanish Hospital

Purpose: The aim of this study is analyze the Etiology of the Uveitis diagnosed in the first three years of a Uveitis unit in a small hospital and share the experience and organization of a collaborative Rheumatology-Ophthalmology Uveitis Unit. Methods: This study includes 136 patients with Uveitis. Results: The most common form of Uveitis was anterior Uveitis (67.2%) and the most common diagnoses were Ankylosing spondylitis (17.8%), Herpes (14.3%), HLA-B27+ (9.5%), Fuchs Heterochromic Iridocyclitis (3.5%). Posterior Uveitis were 16.8% and the most common diagnoses were toxoplasmosis (42.9%), Serpiginous choroidopathy (23.8%), Tuberculosis (4.8%) and Vogt Koyanagi Harada disease (4.8%). Panuveitis was diagnosed in 8.8% of the cases and the most frequent causes were Behcet's disease (18.8%), Endophthalmitis (9%), and Toxoplasmosis (9%). Intermediate Uveitis with 7.2% of the diagnoses, the most frequent were Sarcoidosis (11%), syphilis (11%), and multiple sclerosis (11%). Conclusion: This secondary center based study shows the difference in type of Uveitis and etiology in a secondary hospital from a tertiary one.