Uveitis associated juvenile idiopathic arthritis – presentation of recently published international recommendations for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures

Uveitis is one of the most common extra-articular manifestations in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and occurs in 20–30% of children with this disease. Uveitis occurs at various frequencies and varies in character in individual clinical subtypes of the disease. Normally it is asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic; thus, in 85% of the patients the first symptoms of uveitis and its subsequent episodes pass unobserved. In 75% of cases inflammation affects both eyes. Most often it occurs in the oligoarticular subtypes of JIA, especially in patients aged 2–4 years, who are diagnosed with anti-nuclear antibodies in serum. Uncontrolled uveitis may lead to severe complications that may result in vision loss. To date, there are no generally accepted diagnostic and therapeutic standards for this disease. This article presents the latest recommendations by ophthalmologists and rheumatologists for the detection, treatment, and monitoring of children with JIA-associated uveitis.