Vogt-koyanagi-harada disease with onset in elderly patients aged 68 to 89 years.

BACKGROUND

We present the clinical case reports of elderly Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease patients, including the oldest patient at onset to date.

CASES

Four patients with VKH disease, whose ages at onset were 68 to 89 years, were treated at Kochi Medical School Hospital between December 2002 and September 2004.

OBSERVATIONS

Four elderly patients were diagnosed with VKH disease according to the International Revised Diagnostic Criteria for VKH disease. Two were treated with corticosteroid pulse therapy, but the other two could not tolerate high-dose steroid therapy and were treated with only topical corticosteroids. All had recurrences, which were treated effectively. None of these patients experienced recurrence after sunset glow fundus was observed in the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

VKH disease is thought to be more common in younger people, but it is not as uncommon in elderly people as is generally believed. Among elderly VKH disease patients, some cannot tolerate high-dose corticosteroid therapy, so we need to treat these patients with only topical corticosteroids.