Uveitis in juvenile Behçet's disease: clinical course and visual outcome compared with adult patients

Purpose To characterize the disease course and visual outcome of uveitis in juvenile Behçet's disease (BD) compared with adults. Methods The study population included 13 children (mean age 14±2.4 years; 22 eyes) and 16 adults (mean age 30±8.8 years; 27 eyes) with uveitis in BD diagnosed between 1997 and 2007. Results The male/female ratio was 1.6:1 in the paediatric group and 3:1 in the adult group. Five children (38%) and four adults (25%) had complete BD. Mean duration of follow-up for both groups was 4.7 years. The children had more acute exacerbations (4.1±2.7 vs 2.3±1.5, P =0.054). Treatment in both groups included systemic steroids and immunosuppressive agents. In children, mean initial visual acuity in the affected eyes ( n =22) was 0.6±0.7 logMAR (range, 0–2.2). It decreased during exacerbations in 15 eyes (68%; mean, 1.6±0.8 logMAR), severely reduced (worse than 1 logMAR) in 11 eyes (50%; mean, 2.0±0.45 logMAR), and improved significantly in 12 of 13 promptly treated eyes (92%; 6/12 or better in 11; mean 0.2±0.4 logMAR, P