Bilateral Posterior Scleritis: Analysis of 18 Cases from a Large Cohort of Posterior Scleritis.

PURPOSE

To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients and analyze factors associated with bilateral posterior scleritis.

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, records of patients with diagnosis of bilateral posterior scleritis at two tertiary-care centers in the UK and India were analyzed in comparison with the clinical profile of patients with unilateral scleritis.

RESULTS

In total, 18 patients with bilateral posterior scleritis were identified and compared with 96 patients of unilateral posterior scleritis; 14 (77%) were women and the median age was 48 years. Headache (p = 0.04), optic nerve swelling (p = 0.01), and elevated antinuclear antibodies (ANA) titers (p = 0.03) were present more frequently in patients with bilateral than in unilateral posterior scleritis. Seven patients (38.88%) required immunosuppressive therapy to attain resolution of the inflammation and to prevent relapse.

CONCLUSIONS

Bilateral posterior scleritis is an uncommon but severe inflammation of the posterior sclera. The majority of them are idiopathic, often requiring aggressive treatment to prevent visual loss.