Successful Tocilizumab Treatment for Scleritis

Management of noninfectious scleritis

Scleritis is a manifestation of inflammatory eye disease that involves the sclera. It can be divided into multiple subtypes, including diffuse anterior, nodular anterior, necrotizing, and posterior scleritis. In many cases, scleritis is restricted to the eye; however, it can occur in the context of systemic illness, particularly autoimmune and infectious conditions. Patients with autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and polyangiitis with granulomatosis, may develop scleritis flares that may require topical and systemic therapy. Initial therapy typically involves oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); however, it is important to address the underlying condition, particularly if systemic. Other treatment regimens typically involve either local or systemic steroids or the use of immunomodulatory agents, which have a wide range of efficacy and documented use in the literature. There is a myriad of immunomodulatory agents used in the treatment of scleritis including antimetabolites, calcineurin inhibitors, biologics, and alkylating agents. In this review, we highlight the various subtypes of noninfectious scleritis and explore each of the mainstay agents used in the management of this entity. We explore the use of steroids and NSAIDs in detail and discuss evidence for various immunomodulatory agents.

Biologic Therapies and Small Molecules for the Management of Non-Infectious Scleritis: A Narrative Review

Scleritis refers to a wide spectrum of ocular conditions ranging from mild to sight-threatening scleral inflammation that may compromise visual function and threaten the anatomical integrity of the ocular globe. Most aggressive forms like necrotizing or posterior scleritis are often difficult-to-treat cases, refractory to conventional treatment. The association with systemic diseases, namely rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren syndrome, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and relapsing polychondritis, may have prognostic implications as well. A better understanding of the pathogenesis of ocular inflammatory diseases have paved the way to more effective and targeted treatment approaches. In this regard, a growing body of evidence supports the potential role of biologic agents in the management of non-infectious scleral inflammation, either idiopathic or in a background of immune-mediated systemic disorders. Biologic agents such as anti-tumor necrosis factor agents, interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 inhibitors as well as CD20 blockade have displayed promising results. More specifically, several studies have reported their ability to control scleral inflammation, reduce the overall scleritis relapses, and allow a glucocorticoid-sparing effect while being generally well tolerated. Anecdotal reports have also been described with other biologic agents including abatacept, ustekinumab, daclizumab, and alemtuzumab as well as targeted small molecules such as tofacitinib. Further studies are warranted to fully elucidate the role of biologic agents in non-infectious scleritis and investigate specific areas with the aim to administer treatments in the context of personalized medicine. This review summarizes the available data regarding clinical trials, small pilot studies, and real-life experience of the last two decades reporting the use of biologic agents in the management of non-infectious scleritis.

Peripheral ulcerative keratitis in rheumatoid arthritis patients taking tocilizumab: paradoxical manifestation or insufficient efficacy?

Objectives

Peripheral ulcerative keratitis (PUK) is a severe corneal condition associated with uncontrolled RA. Tocilizumab (TCZ) is used to control RA, however, episodes of paradoxical ocular inflammation have been reported in TCZ-treated patients. We report a case series of PUK in TCZ-treated RA patients with ophthalmological and systemic findings and discuss the potential underlying mechanisms.

Methods

Four patients (six eyes), 47–62 years of age, were included. At the onset of PUK, the median duration of RA was 13 years [interquartile range (IQR) 3–13] and the median treatment with TCZ was 9 months (IQR 3–14). Two patients had active disease [28-joint DAS (DAS28) >3.2] and the disease was controlled in two patients (DAS28 ≤3.2).

Results

TCZ was initially replaced by another immunomodulatory treatment in all patients and later reintroduced in two patients without PUK recurrence. Corneal inflammation was controlled in all cases with local and systemic treatments, with severe visual loss in one eye.

Conclusion

PUK may occur in patients with long-standing RA after a switch to TCZ and can be interpreted, depending on the context, as insufficient efficacy or a paradoxical manifestation. These cases highlight the urgent need for reliable biomarkers of the efficacy and paradoxical reactions of biologics.

Current Approach for the Diagnosis and Management of Noninfective Scleritis

ABSTRACT

Scleritis is a rare, vision-threatening inflammation of the sclera that is often associated with life-threatening systemic illnesses. Rheumatoid arthritis remains the most common associated systemic rheumatic disease and the commonest systemic association of scleritis. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis is the most common cause of vasculitis-associated scleritis. The etiopathogenesis of scleritis remains unclear, but can be immune complex-mediated or due to a local delayed hypersensitivity reaction. Scleritis can involve either the anterior or posterior sclera, and has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. Among the subtypes of scleritis, necrotizing scleritis has an increased risk of complications and is more commonly associated with anterior uveitis and peripheral ulcerative keratitis. Posterior scleritis is often not diagnosed or missed due to its subtle clinical signs and protean manifestations. Meticulous history taking, detailed ocular examination, and a targeted array of investigations with a multi-disciplinary approach to find any underlying systemic disease are crucial for the management of a case of scleritis. Corticosteroids remain the mainstay of short-term treatment of scleritis; mild to moderate scleral inflammation may respond well to treatment with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug or topical corticosteroid. Corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppressive therapies are useful in cases with an inadequate response or failure to provide long-term control of inflammation, and to prevent recurrence of scleritis. Biologic agents are increasingly used in the management of scleritis, not responding to the conventional therapies. This review provides an overview of the various subtypes of scleritis and its systemic associations and evaluates current trends in the diagnosis and management of noninfective scleritis.