A Good Detective Never Misses a Clue: Why the Epidemiology of Scleritis Deserves Our Attention

Colombian ocular inflammatory diseases epidemiology study (COIDES): prevalence, incidence and sociodemographic characterisation of Scleritis in Colombia, 2015–2020

Objective

To describe the epidemiological and demographic characteristics of scleritis in Colombia.

Methods and analysis

Population-based study using the national database from the Colombian Ministry of Health, using the International Classification of Diseases-10 code for Scleritis (H150) to estimate the prevalence and incidence from 2015 to 2019. Additionally, we evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on the epidemiology of the disease during 2020, using the Gaussian Random Markov Field model (conditional autoregressive; CAR model). Finally, a standardised morbidity rate map was made to assess the geographic distribution of scleritis in the country.

Results

The 5-year average prevalence and incidence of scleritis in Colombia were 0.6 (95% CI 0.59 to 0.6) and 0.65 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.64) cases per 100 000 inhabitants, respectively. We found 1429 registers of scleritis throughout the country between 2015 and 2019. Women represented 64.3%. The age groups with most cases were between 40 and 69 years in both sexes. However, women between 30 and 39 years and men between 20 and 29 years presented the highest number of new cases. In 2020, the pandemic reduced approximately 0.23 points the incidence of scleritis. Bogotá, Valle del Cauca and Antioquia had most of the cases, the latter two with an increased risk over time.

Conclusion

Colombia has a lower incidence of scleritis than the reported in other latitudes, with a pattern of presentation at younger ages. Furthermore, the lockdown derived from the CODIV-19 pandemic affected the follow-up and diagnosis of patients with scleritis. This is the first epidemiological description of scleritis in a developing country and South America.

Clinical patterns and risk factors in scleritis: a multicentric study in Colombia

PURPOSE

This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics of scleritis in a large cohort of Colombian patients and identify factors associated with the clinical presentation.

METHODS

Retrospective case series of patients with scleritis from 2015 to 2020. Clinical records were obtained from seven uveitis referral centers in Colombia. Patients with a diagnosis of episcleritis were excluded.

RESULTS

We evaluated 389 patients with scleritis (509 eyes). There was a female predominance (75.6%) with a mean age of 51 ± 15 years. Most cases were noninfectious (94.8%) and unilateral (69.2%). The most frequent type of inflammation was diffuse anterior scleritis (41.7%), followed by nodular scleritis (31.9%) and necrotizing scleritis (12.3%). Systemic autoimmune diseases were found in 41.3% of patients, the most common being rheumatoid arthritis (18.5%) and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (5.9%). Polyautoimmunity was found in 10.4% of those with a systemic autoimmune disease. The most frequent treatment was systemic steroids (50.9%), followed by systemic NSAIDs (32.4%). Steroid-sparing immunosuppression was required in 49.1% of patients. Systemic autoimmune diseases were more common in patients with necrotizing scleritis and those older than 40 years of age. Best-corrected visual acuity of 20/80 or worse at presentation was more common in necrotizing scleritis and subjects with associated uveitis, ocular hypertension, or who were over 40 years of age.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study in Colombia and the largest in Latin America describing the clinical characteristics and presentation patterns of scleritis. The most common presentation was in females, with unilateral, anterior diffuse noninfectious scleritis. Systemic autoimmune diseases and polyautoimmunity were frequent, as was the need for steroid-sparing immunosuppression. Age over 40 and necrotizing scleritis were associated with higher odds of having a systemic autoimmune disease and worse visual acuity at presentation.