Risk for uveitis after laser in situ keratomileusis in patients positive for human leukocyte antigen-B27.

PURPOSE: To assess the incidence of, risk for, and visual outcomes of acute anterior uveitis (AAU) in human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 positive patients who had laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). SETTING: University-based center. METHODS: This study comprised 46 eyes of 23 HLA-B27 positive patients with a 5-year follow-up. Data on episodes of uveitis were reviewed retrospectively and the incidence rates calculated for LASIK and non-LASIK eyes. Kaplan-Meier survival probabilities were calculated for uveitis occurring during the final 36 to 60 months of the study. Survival probabilities between LASIK and non-LASIK eyes were compared. RESULTS: Twenty eyes (10 patients) had LASIK a mean of 36 months+/-2 (SD) after the diagnosis of HLA-B27. In the HLA-B27 positive patients, the incidence rates of uveitis between eyes that had and eyes that did not have LASIK were not significantly different. The incidence rates of uveitis after LASIK did not differ significantly between eyes with and eyes without episodes of uveitis before LASIK (P=.135). The probability of an eye having no episode of uveitis in the fourth and fifth year of follow-up was not significantly different between eyes that had LASIK and those that did not (P=.668). CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence rate of post-LASIK AAU in the HLA-B27 positive population was not higher than the general incidence in a similar HLA-B27 population without previous LASIK. A previous episode of uveitis did not appear to increase the risk for uveitis after LASIK in HLA-B27 positive patients.