RESUMEN
PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of systemic tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (TNFi) in the treatment of non-infectious uveitis (NIU). METHODS: This Swiss multicenter retrospective cohort study included patients with NIU requiring TNFi during the period from 2001 to 2018. Risk factors for the occurrence of new complications were identified using Cox regression analysis and hazard ratios (HR). RESULTS: Seventy-one patients (126 eyes; mean age 40.6 ± 14.4 years, mean duration of uveitis 46.0 ± 61.8 months) were followed for 40.2 ± 17.3 months after addition of TNFi. Under TNFi, visual acuity improved from 0.2 ± 0.3 to 0.1 ± 0.3 logMAR (p < 0.001). The portion of patients under systemic corticosteroids decreased from 81.7% to 25.4% (p < 0.001), while that for conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs insignificantly decreased from 63.4% to 50.7% (p > 0.05). In 80.2% of eyes, complications were present at baseline with epiretinal gliosis (39.7%), cataract (41.3%) and macular edema (ME; 27.8%) being the most common. New complications under TNFi were encountered in 49.2% of eyes, also including recurrence (5 eyes) or new onset of ME (14 eyes). The need for switching of TNFi was associated with further complications (HR 3.78, p = 0.012). CONCLUSION: Although the efficacy and tolerability of TNFi in a real-life setting are favorable, treatment is often initiated late, i.e., after many eyes have already developed complications. Even with TNFi, new complications, particularly ME, cannot be completely avoided. Further research is needed to assess the impact of earlier initiation of TNFi therapy.
RESUMEN
PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (TNFi) on uveitic macular edema (ME) unresponsive to conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study included patients with uveitic ME persisting despite csDMARDs. The effect of an additional TNFi on central retinal thickness (CRT), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and corticosteroid need was evaluated. RESULTS: Thirty-five eyes (26 patients, mean age 42.9 ± 15.2 years) were included. CRT decreased from 425 ± 137 µm to 294 ± 66 µm (p < .001) and 280 ± 48 µm (p < .001) at 1 and 4 years of follow-up, respectively. BCVA improved from 0.28 ± 0.22 to 0.21 ± 0.48 (1 year, p = .013) and 0.08 ± 0.13 logMAR (4 years, p = .002). The proportion of patients requiring systemic corticosteroids decreased from 88.5% to 34.8% (1 year) and 15.4% (4 years). CONCLUSION: The addition of a TNFi resulted in an improvement of CRT and BCVA for up to 4 years in uveitic ME but rescue treatments were needed for some patients.