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Idiopathic Recurrent Neuroretinitis
Effects of Long-term Immunosuppression
Valerie Purvin, MD;
Nicholas Ranson, MD;
Aki Kawasaki, MD
Arch Ophthalmol. 2003;121:65-67.
Objective To determine the efficacy of long-term immunosuppressive therapy in patients with recurrent idiopathic neuroretinitis.
Methods A retrospective review of 30 patients with recurrent idiopathic neuroretinitis identified 7 who received ongoing immunosuppression with prednisone and/or azathioprine for whom adequate follow-up information was available. We calculated the number of attacks per unit of time for each patient before and after treatment to derive mean attack rates for the group.
Results For the entire group, we found a rate of 0.58 attacks per year prior to the initiation of immunosuppressive treatment, which decreased to 0.16 attacks per year following immunosuppression. This represents a reduction in the attack rate of 0.41, or a 72% decrease in attack frequency.
Conclusions Our study suggests a possible role for long-term immunosuppressive treatment in patients with recurrent idiopathic neuroretinitis. A longer follow-up interval, more standardized treatment regimens, and additional outcome measures might reveal a greater benefit of treatment.
From the Midwest Eye Institute (Dr Purvin), and the Departments of Ophthalmology (Drs Purvin and Ranson) and Neurology (Dr Purvin), Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis; and Hopital Ophtalmique Jules Gonin, Lausanne, Switzerland (Dr Kawasaki).
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