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. 2025 Feb 24;109(3):372-376.
doi: 10.1136/bjo-2023-324406.

A practical approach to uveitis screening in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Ivan Foeldvari  1 , Marcela Bohn  2   3 , Harry Petrushkin  2   4 , S Angeles Han  5 , Regitze Bangsgaard  6 , Joan Calzada-Hernández  7 , Tamas Constantin  8 , Joke H de Boer  9 , Jesus Díaz-Cascajosa  10 , Clive Edelsten  11 , Mia Glerup  12 , Helene Ingels  13 , Sebastian Kramer  14 , Elisabetta Miserocchi  15 , Ellen Nordal  16 , Rotraud K Saurenmann  17   18 , Gabriele Simonini  19 , Ameenat Lola Solebo  20 , Jan Titz  14 , Jordi Anton  7
Affiliations

A practical approach to uveitis screening in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Ivan Foeldvari et al. Br J Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis typically presents as a silent chronic anterior uveitis and can lead to blindness. Adherence to current screening guidelines is hampered by complex protocols which rely on the knowledge of specific JIA characteristics. The Multinational Interdisciplinary Working Group for Uveitis in Childhood identified the need to simplify screening to enable local eye care professionals (ECPs), who carry the main burden, to screen children with JIA appropriately and with confidence.

Methods: A consensus meeting took place in January 2023 in Barcelona, Spain, with an expert panel of 10 paediatric rheumatologists and 5 ophthalmologists with expertise in paediatric uveitis. A summary of the current evidence for JIA screening was presented. A nominal group technique was used to reach consensus.

Results: The need for a practical but safe approach that allows early uveitis detection was identified by the panel. Three screening recommendations were proposed and approved by the voting members. They represent a standardised approach to JIA screening taking into account the patient's age at the onset of JIA to determine the screening interval until adulthood.

Conclusion: By removing the need for the knowledge of JIA categories, antinuclear antibody positivity or treatment status, the recommendations can be more easily implemented by local ECP, where limited information is available. It would improve the standard of care on the local level significantly. The proposed protocol is less tailored to the individual than the 'gold standard' ones it references and does not aim to substitute those where they are being used with confidence.

Keywords: Not applicable.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: IF, MB and HP: no competing interest. SAH is supported by the National Institutes for Health (NIH) National Eye Institute under Award Numbers R01EY030521 and R01 EY034565. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products or organisations imply endorsement by the US government. RB, JC-H, TC, JHdB, JD-C, CE, MG, HI, SK, EM, EN, RKS, GS, ALS, JT and JA: no competing interest.

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