Ocular manifestations in IgA nephropathy

Abstract

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is a rare but important systemic disease with or without ocular manifestations. We describe 4 cases of IgAN presenting with scleritis and review the various ocular manifestations in patients with IgAN. We found 55 cases with ocular manifestations in patients with prior or newly-diagnosed IgAN described in 38 publications. The most common ocular manifestations of IgAN were episcleritis (23.6%), scleritis (16.4%), hypertensive retinopathy or retinal vasculopathy (20.0%), and uveitis (14.5%). The median age at presentation was 36.5 years, with 54.5% female patients. 61.8% had history of IgAN prior to ocular involvement, while 29.1% had ocular presentations as the first manifestation of IgAN. The majority received systemic corticosteroids and/or immunosuppressants. Additionally, we report 4 women with anterior scleritis and previous diagnosis of IgAN. All 4 were treated with topical and systemic corticosteroids. Three out of 4 patients had no recurrence for at least 1 year since the first presentation. IgAN is a rare but important systemic association to be considered in ocular inflammatory conditions. Timely recognition and comanagement of the disease with nephrologist could reduce disease morbidity.

Keywords: Episcleritis; IgA nephropathy; Ocular manifestations; Scleritis; Uveitis.