Acute phase clinical manifestations of patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease in Southern China

BACKGROUNDS: To characterize the acute phase clinical manifestations and visual outcomes of the patients with Vogt-Koyanagi Harada (VKH) disease in southern China. METHODS: In total, 186 patients with acute-onset VKH disease were recruited. The demographic data, clinical signs, ophthalmic examinations, and visual outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 186 VKH patients, 3 were diagnosed as complete VKH, 125 as incomplete VKH, and 58 as probable VKH. All patients visited the hospital within 3 months of onset and complained of decreased vision. For the extraocular manifestations, 121 patients (65%) referred neurological symptoms. Anterior chamber activity was negative in most eyes within an onset of 7 days, which increased slightly with onset beyond 1 week. Exudative retinal detachment (366 eyes, 98%) and optic disc hyperaemia (314 eyes, 84%) were commonly observed at presentation. A typical ancillary examination helped with the diagnosis of VKH. Systemic corticosteroid therapy was prescribed. The logMAR best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly from 0.74 ± 0.54 at baseline to 0.12 ± 0.24 at the 1-year follow-up visit. The recurrence rate was 18% in the follow-up visits. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were significantly correlated to VKH recurrences. CONCLUSION: Posterior uveitis, followed by mild anterior uveitis, is the typical initial manifestation in the acute phase of Chinese VKH patients. Visual outcome improvement is promising in most patients receiving systemic corticosteroid therapy in the acute phase. Detection of the clinical features at the initial onset of VKH could facilitate early treatment and better vision improvement. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12886-023-02952-y.