Correlation of serum amyloid A levels, clinical manifestations, treatment, and disease activity in patients with acute anterior uveitis

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between serum amyloid A (SAA) protein and the clinical features of acute anterior uveitis (AAU), and to evaluate the disease activity and treatment effect in relation to SAA levels. METHODS: AAU patients and healthy individuals were recruited from October 2016 to August 2017 at the Department of Uveitis, in the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. Related demographic, clinical characteristics, and therapeutic data were analyzed. RESULTS: One hundred and eight AAU patients and 18 healthy controls were included in this study. Serum SAA levels in AAU patients were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (p all < 0.0001). Significantly higher SAA levels were found in AS(+)AAU patients than those in AS(−)AAU patients (p < 0.05). SAA levels were also significantly higher in patients with HLA-B27(+)AAU compared with those with HLA-B27(−)AAU (p < 0.05). Furthermore, in each of the AAU subgroups, higher SAA levels were observed in the active state than those in the inactive state (p all < 0.05). In addition, SAA levels were positively correlated to anterior chamber cell counts (r = 0.492, p < 0.0001). ROC curve analysis revealed that SAA had an AUC value of 0.727 for detecting active inflammation (Youden’s index = 0.38). SAA decreased with effective treatments (p = 0.0002). CONCLUSION: Serum levels of SAA were elevated in AAU patients. The increased levels of SAA were correlated with AS and HLA-B27 status. SAA levels were also positively correlated to disease activity and decreased with effective treatments. These findings suggest that SAA is associated with AAU, with a potential role in monitoring inflammatory processes and assessing the efficacy of therapy.