Cataract Surgery in Patients With Uveitis Treated With Systemic Therapy in the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) Trial and Follow-up Study: Risk Factors and Outcomes.

PubMed ID: 37406846

Author(s): Jabs DA, Sugar EA, Burke AE, Altaweel MM, Dunn JP, Gangaputra S, Kempen JH, Pepple KL, Stawell RJ, Holbrook JT; Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) Trial and Follow-up Study Research Group. Cataract Surgery in Patients With Uveitis Treated With Systemic Therapy in the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) Trial and Follow-up Study: Risk Factors and Outcomes. Am J Ophthalmol. 2023 Oct;254:210-220. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2023.06.023. Epub 2023 Jul 3. PMID 37406846

Journal: American Journal Of Ophthalmology, Volume 254, Oct 2023

PURPOSE To evaluate the rate of, risk factors for, and outcomes of cataract surgery in patients with intermediate, posterior, and panuveitides treated with systemic corticosteroids and immunosuppression.

DESIGN Cohort study of participants from a randomized clinical trial.

METHODS A multicenter clinical trial with extended follow-up comprised the study setting. From the cohort of participants assigned to systemic therapy in the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) Trial and Follow-up Study, 125 phakic eyes of 74 patients with intermediate, posterior, or panuveitides treated with systemic therapy were included. The main outcome measures were cataract surgery and visual acuity after cataract surgery.

RESULTS The cumulative incidence of cataract surgery was 43% at 7 years of follow-up, and the risk did not plateau. Risk factors for cataract surgery included age >50 years (hazard ratio [HR] 2.86, 95% CI 1.52, 5.42; P = .001), topical corticosteroid use (time-updated HR 3.13, 95% CI 1.42, 6.94; P = .005), glaucoma medication use (HR 2.75, 95% CI 1.38, 5.47; P = .004), and possibly history of anterior chamber inflammation (HR 1.90, 95% CI 0.95, 3.84; P = .07). Median gain in acuity and median best corrected visual acuity 1 year after cataract surgery were 4.8 lines and 20/25, respectively, among 42 eyes undergoing cataract surgery with 1-year follow-up data.

CONCLUSIONS Among patients with intermediate, posterior, and panuveitides, treated with oral corticosteroids and immunosuppression, there is a substantial long-term risk of cataract surgery. Visual acuity outcomes after cataract surgery are generally good.