Reducing the risk of visual disability for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis uveitis through disease surveillance: past and future challenges
Abstract Childhood blindness significantly impacts development, education, employment, and mental health, creating burden for families and society. Between 8% and 30% of children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) develop a potentially blinding chronic inflammatory eye disease, uveitis (JIAU)....
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Pediatric Rheumatology Online Journal |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12969-024-01037-4 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Childhood blindness significantly impacts development, education, employment, and mental health, creating burden for families and society. Between 8% and 30% of children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) develop a potentially blinding chronic inflammatory eye disease, uveitis (JIAU). Alongside the use of disease-modifying agents and anti-TNF immunomodulators, JIAU surveillance has helped to reduce the risk of JIAU related blindness. Inconsistent guidance on JIAU surveillance has previously been a hindrance to care delivery and access for professional and families. The Multinational Interdisciplinary Working Group for Uveitis in Childhood (MIWGUC) has brought some much-needed standardisation to JIA surveillance, developing a consensus-based screening proposal which simplifies the protocol, supporting implementation amongst non-specialists, and ensuring that children at risk receive the timely eye examination necessary to avoid life-changing visual disability. In this commentary on the MIWGUC surveillance proposal, we also address the implementation of such surveillance. A global shortage of ophthalmologists threatens the sustainability of these surveillance programs. Innovative approaches could be imaging-based detection. The accessibility of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging may make OCT a feasible future option for community-based surveillance, reducing the burden on ophthalmologists, and on patients and their families. |
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| ISSN: | 1546-0096 |