Sympathetic ophthalmia: Report of a case series and comprehensive review of the literature

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the factors related to sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) in a series of patients in our ophthalmology center and previously published cases.

Methods: A retrospective and noncomparative review was performed on 16 patients with SO attending our ophthalmology center from 2013 to 2019. A total of 87 previously published cases of SO were identified by searching the Medline database from 2009 to 2019.

Results: Sixteen patients were included in the analysis, and six cases were induced by transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (TCP). All patients had achieved controlled inflammation at their last follow-up visit. Thirteen patients (81.3%) had improved best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). A review of the literature revealed 87 previously reported cases of SO. Shared clinical features and treatment outcomes were summarized.

Conclusion: Ocular therapies, including both penetrating ocular therapy and non-penetrating ocular intervention, have become increasingly prevalent risk factors for SO, and the latent period has increased compared to past reports. Visual prognosis with appropriate medical management is relatively good.

Keywords: Immunosuppressants; ocular therapy; ocular trauma; oral prednisone; sympathetic ophthalmia.