Anna Brouwer

2 37 Prolonged cone b-wave is associated with severity of inflammation Introduction Noninfectious uveitis includes multiple diseases, some of which have an association with systemic diseases, whereas others are limited to the eye. Each of the individual diagnosis is relatively rare, and the prevalence of different subtypes varies around the world. In the United States the prevalence of uveitis is 121 cases per 100.000 adults. 1 Because uveitis frequently affects younger people, the social impact of the disease is high because it is responsible for approximately 10% of cases of blindness in the working population. 2 Ocular inflammationmay result in retinal changes, sometimes leading to retinal atrophy and functional loss. 3 Most of this retinal damage occurs after the inflammation has been present for several years. With new treatment options becoming available, ophthalmologists have more opportunities to treat this disease at an early stage before structural damage occurs to the ocular tissue. 4 The electroretinogram (ERG) is an objective test which measures retinal function and which is mostly used to diagnose inherited or acquired retinal diseases. It may also be used for monitoring disease and to assess the extent of retinal damage, for instance, in ocular inflammation. 5 It is especially in early signs of retinal damage, prior to anatomical changes observed on optical coherence tomography (OCT), that the ERG would be of value in the care of patients. In birdshot uveitis (BSCR) the ERG may be used for monitoring disease activity. 6–8 The 30 Hz flicker response appears to be the most sensitive parameter, but many other ERG abnormalities can occur as well. 7,8 Abnormal ERG test results have also been reported in other uveitis entities. 9 However, the value of measuring ERG in inflammatory eye disease has yet to be determined. This prospective study was conducted to gain more insight into the effects of uveitis and disease duration on ERG results. Types of ERG abnormalities in uveitis and their relation to clinical parameters were investigated. Methods Design and patient population A prospective cohort study measuring a full-field ERG in 200 patients with a noninfectious uveitis was conducted. Patients with accompanying diabetic retinopathy, retinal dystrophy, family history of retinal dystrophy, myopic degeneration, or severe media opacities were excluded. All patients were treated for uveitis at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), the Netherlands, and were ≥ 18 years old. Patients