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Purpose: The study aims to describe the course and management of non-infectious uveitis during pregnancy and postpartum period in European populations., Methods: A retrospective observational study in two tertiary centers in France was performed. Pregnant patients during the follow-up of a non-infectious uveitis as well as those with new-onset uveitis were included. The medical records were analyzed with a systematic collection of the characteristics of the uveitis, the treatment and evolution of the uveitis, and the course of the pregnancy including obstetric complications., Results: Seventy-nine pregnancies in 59 women were included: 48 patients (68 pregnancies) were followed for uveitis and 11 had a new-onset uveitis diagnosis. Most patients had idiopathic uveitis (32.2%) or sarcoid uveitis (27.1%). Among the patients followed for uveitis at the time of conception, there were 18 relapses (26.5%) requiring treatment escalation. Relapses occurred mainly in the two first trimester (n = 12) or during the postpartum period (n = 5) and were significantly associated with an active uveitis at the time of conception (OR = 9.2, 95% CI [1.57-48.4], p = 0.01). The characteristics of the new-onset uveitis were similar to those already existing before pregnancy. Obstetric complications occurred in 25 pregnancies (31.6%), mainly gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes., Conclusion: The frequency of non-infectious uveitis relapses decreases as pregnancy progresses, in agreement with data from other non-European studies. However, multidisciplinary monitoring should be advised, especially to uncontrolled patients at the time of conception., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Aim: To assess the relevance of lumbar puncture (LP) for the etiological diagnosis of uveitis and to establish predictive factors associated with its contributory use., Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients with de novo uveitis who were referred to our tertiary hospital for etiological diagnosis of uveitis, between January 2003 and July 2018. We included patients who underwent a LP as part of the etiological assessment of uveitis. LP was considered as contributory if it led to the etiological diagnosis or to correct the initially suspected diagnosis., Results: One hundred eighty eight of the 1211 patients referred for evaluation (16%) had an LP, among these patients, 93 (49.4%) had abnormal results including 69 (36.7%) patients with hypercellularity, 69 (36.7%) with hyperproteinorachia, and 28 (14.9%) with oligoclonal bands and/or increased IgG index. LP was considered as contributing to the diagnosis in only 31 (16.4%) cases, among which there were 10 (5.3%) contributions to the etiological diagnosis and 21 (11.2%) modifications in the diagnosis classification. Multivariate analysis established that African ethnicity (p < 0.001), bilateral uveitis (p = 0.01), presence of macular edema or retinal serous detachment (p = 0.048), presence of retinal vasculitis (p < 0.001), presence of neurological signs or symptoms (p = 0.01), and contributing cerebral MRI (p < 0.001) were all significantly associated with a contributory LP. LP did not lead to any therapeutic modification., Conclusion: LP direct contribution to the diagnosis was rare and most often detected non-specific abnormalities. LP should be performed only in cases of neurological clinical signs or symptoms, suspicion of multiple sclerosis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada, or syphilis., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: To describe the characteristics of de novo uveitis in patients ≥ 60 years old., Methods: Retrospective review of patients with uveitis followed in our tertiary center over a 14-year period. Patients aged 60-70 years and patients aged > 70 years were compared., Results: A total of 283/1044 (27.1%) patients with uveitis were ≥ 60 years of age. Idiopathic uveitis (36.1%) and sarcoidosis (31.5%) were the most frequent etiologies. Sarcoidosis was significantly more frequent (31.5% vs. 13.7%, p < 0.0001) after the age of 60 years. Intraocular lymphoma (5.0% vs. 1.1%) and herpes virus infection (5.0% vs. 0.9%) were also more common in this age group, unlike HLA B27-related uveitis and spondyloarthritis (4.6% vs. 14.9%). Pure ophthalmologic entities: birdshot retinochoroidopathy (2.8%) or Fuchs uveitis (0.4%), were rare in patients ≥ 60 years of age and Posner Scholssman, Pars planitis, White dots syndrome, Behçet's disease, and Multiple Sclerosis were never reported. In patients > 70 years old, idiopathic uveitis (41.1% vs. 31.7%) and presumed sarcoidosis (56.5% vs. 25.6%) were more frequent than in the 60-70-year age group., Conclusion: In our center, sarcoidosis is the leading cause of non-idiopathic uveitis in older patients. Idiopathic uveitis and other entities account for less than two-thirds of cases. Ophthalmologic entities are rare after 60 years of age. We also report for the first time the characteristics of uveitis after 70 years of age.

Sarcoidosis of the spinal cord is a rare disease. The aims of this study are to describe the features of spinal cord sarcoidosis (SCS) and identify prognostic markers. We analyzed 20 patients over a 20-year period in 8 French hospitals. There were 12 men (60 %), mostly Caucasian (75 %). The median ages at diagnosis of sarcoidosis and myelitis were 34.5 and 37 years, respectively. SCS revealed sarcoidosis in 12 patients (60 %). Eleven patients presented with motor deficit (55 %) and 9 had sphincter dysfunction (45 %). The median initial Edmus Grading Scale (EGS) score was 2.5. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed elevated protein level (median: 1.00 g/L, interquartile range (IQR) 0.72-1.97), low glucose level (median 2.84 mmol/L, IQR 1.42-3.45), and elevated white cell count (median 22/mm(3), IQR 6-45). The cervical and thoracic cords were most often affected (90 %). All patients received steroids and an immunosuppressive drug was added in 10 cases (50 %). After a mean follow-up of 52.1 months (range 8-43), 18 patients had partial response (90 %), 7 displayed functional impairment (35 %), and the median final EGS score was 1. Six patients experienced relapse (30 %). There was an association between the initial and the final EGS scores (p = 0.006). High CSF protein level showed a trend toward an association with relapse (p = 0.076). The spinal cord lesion was often the presenting feature of sarcoidosis. Most patients experienced clinical improvement with corticosteroids and/or immunosuppressive treatment. The long-term functional prognosis was correlated with the initial severity.

Purpose: Inflammatory back pain, the main symptom in spondyloarthritis, is defined by the presence of two or more positive responses among the four items of Berlin Criteria. This study assesses the value of these criteria in detecting previously undiagnosed spondyloarthritis after an episode of acute anterior uveitis., Methods: Records of patients addressed for etiological diagnosis after an acute anterior uveitis (April 2006 to November 2013) were retrospectively analysed. Patient characteristics, the presence of back pain, Berlin Criteria, the final diagnosis, and the ASAS classification criteria for spondyloarthritis were collected and analysed., Results: The study included 102 patients (59.8% women). The mean age was 44.5 years. Uveitis cases were mainly unilateral (73.5%) and recurrent (58.8%). Twenty-one patients had some type of spondyloarthritis, 20 fulfilling retrospectively the ASAS criteria. Back pain with at least two positive items from Berlin Criteria was 61.9% sensitive and 97.5% specific in diagnosing spondyloarthritis. Considering only one positive item increased the sensitivity (90.5%) but decreased the specificity (91.4%)., Conclusions: Acute anterior uveitis may be the key symptom that reveals a formerly undiagnosed spondyloarthritis. A referral to a rheumatologist should be considered in presence of back pain, even without fulfilment of the classical definition with Berlin Criteria.