AB1208 POINT PREVALENCE OF UVEITIS AND ARTHRITIS AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY
Authors: Eiman Dessouki
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2019)

<h3>Background</h3> Sight-threatening uveitis associated with pediatric rheumatologic diseases, especially juvenile idiopathi arthritis, often remains asymptomatic till late. On the other hand, children with indolent asymptomatic uveitis may later on develop the characteristic arthritis of juvenle idiopathic arthritis, especially the oligoarticular rheumatoid factor negative type. A multidiscipliary screening of children at the peak age of developing these potentially handicappinng manifestations, allows active case findng and facilitates a comprehensive ophthalmic-rheumatolgic management plan. <h3>Objectives</h3> A point prevalence study aiming at active case finding and describng the prevalence of uveitis and arthritis among school children between the ages of 4 and 9 years in 10 screened schools in Egypt. <h3>Methods</h3> All children between the ages of 4 and 9 years in 10 schools were screened for the clinical evidence of uveitis and/or arthritis. The children discovered to be suffering from uveitis and/or arthritis, were referred to the appropriate tertiary clinics for detailed evaluation and management <h3>Results</h3> A total of 6372 children were screened, 3418 of them were females (53.6%) and 2954 were males (46.4%). Thirty four children were found to have uveitis (0.5%). Of these, 26 children were females (76.5%) and 8 children were males (23.5%). Two female children were known uveitis patients and were on treatment. A hundred and eleven children had arthralgia. Of these, 56 children had clinically evident arthritis at the time of screening. Twenty eight children with arthritis were females (50%) and the other twenty eight children were males (50%). Three girls were previously known to be arthritis patients ( 2 with juvenile idiopathc arthritis and one with psoriasis). Sixteen children had both uveitis and arthritis. All cases detected to have uveitis, arthralgia, or arthritis, in the study were referred to tertiary clinics for further management. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Screening of school children for uveitis and joint manifestations in developing countries with a modest socioeconomic status, is a method of active case finding that helps an, as early as possible, implementation of the proper plan of mangement. <h3>References</h3> [1] Kanski JJ, Shun-Shin A. Systematic uveitis syndromes in childhood; an analysis of 340 cases. Ophthalmology 1984; 91: 1247–1252. [2] Chang JH-M, Wakefield D. Uveitis: a global perspective. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2002; 10: 263–279: [3] O'Brien JM, Albert DM. Therapeutic approaches for ophthalmic problems in juvenile arthritis. Rheumatol Dis Clin N Amer 1989; 15: 413–22. [4] Tsirouki T, Dastiridou A, Symeonidis C, et al. A focus on the epidemiology of Uveitis. Ocul Immunol Inflamm 2016; 1–15. [5] Dollfus H. Eye involvement in children's rheumatic diseases. Baillere's Clin Rheumatol 1998; 5: 197–202 [6] Soylu M, Ozdemir G, Anli A. Pediatric uveitis in southern Turkey. Ocul Immunol Inflamm 1997; 5:197–202 [7] Hamade IH, Al Shamsi HN, Al Dhibi H, et al. Uveitis survey in children. Br J Ophthalmol 2009; 93:569–572 <h3>Disclosure of Interests</h3> None declared