Laser interferometry and visual prognosis in uveitis.

Forty-six eyes in 26 patients with active, intermediate, and/or posterior uveitis with decreased visual acuity were evaluated with the laser interferometer before treatment with systemic cyclosporine. Pretreatment visual acuity (ETDRS), pretreatment laser interferometric visual acuity, and the best visual acuity obtained while under treatment were compared. Eighty-six percent of patients in whom the laser interferometer predicted an improvement of three or more lines did improve. In contrast, 52% of patients in whom no improvement was predicted improved three or more lines with therapy. There was a moderate correlation (R = 0.59) (P less than 0.001) between the number of lines of improvement predicted and the number of lines of improvement obtained. If the laser visual acuity is three or more lines better than the eye chart acuity, the prognosis for vision improvement after cyclosporine therapy is good, even in those patients with cystoid macula edema.