Profile of sympathetic ophthalmia (SO)
Reviewed by Fiona Rowe

The authors undertook this study to examine the clinical profile of patients aged <18 years with SO over the past 20 years. This was a hospital-based retrospective study from 1997 to 2017. SO is a diagnosis of bilateral panuveitis following history of trauma or surgery. The study included 20 patients; 14 male, six female. Mean age at presentation was 11 ±3.1 years. Seventeen had penetrating trauma and three were following vitreoretinal surgery. Four of the trauma cases had surgical management of the injury. Vitreal inflammation was noted in 16 eyes, subretinal fluid at the posterior pole in nine and optic disc swelling in five. Median time from injury to SO was 54 days. All were treated with systemic steroids and 17 also with immunosuppressant agents. The most common complications were cataract (10), ocular hypertension (six) and subretinal fibrosis (three). Mean follow-up was 462 ±64.8 days. Mean best correct visual acuity at presentation was 1.15 ±0.99 logMAR improving to 0.54 ±1 at follow-up. Good visual outcome of 6/12 or better was achieved in 70%. The authors conclude SO is rare but potentially visually disabling. Prompt management facilitates control of disease and retention of good visual acuity.

Pediatric sympathetic ophthalmia: 20 years of data from a tertiary eye centre in India.
Majumder PD, Mistry S, Sridharan S, et al.
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY AND STRABISMUS
2020;57:154-8.