SOME ASPECTS OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF UVEITIS AND UVEITIC GLAUCOMA IN THE REGIONS OF AZERBAIJAN

Abstract

Purpose – to evaluate some aspects of the epidemiological characteristics  of uveitis and uveitic glaucoma (UG) in the regions of Azerbaijan.

Material and methods

The study was conducted based on a retrospective clinical, epidemiological, and etio-pathogenetic analysis of the clinical and electronic databases (1C-EMS) of patients who presented with uveitis and UG to the National Ophthalmology Centre named after Academician Zarifa Aliyeva and its Masally, Ganja, and Sheki branches between 2008 and 2025. Methods of examination: ophthalmological, general clinical, laboratory, statistical.

Results

The analysis revealed that the majority of 2,877 patients diagnosed with uveitis who applied to the National Ophthalmology Centre named after Academician Zarifa Aliyeva and its branches during 2008-2025 were between the ages of 19 and 70 (91.4%) (35.5% in the acute stage, 64.5% in the chronic stage). Most of them applied to the Centre in Baku - 2,179 (75.7%), and 698 people (24.3%) applied to the branches. Overall, patients with uveitis accounted for 0.41% of all applications. Compared by the years, the highest number of patient applications with uveitis was recorded in Baku in 2018 and 2024, in Masally in 2017 and 2022, in Ganja in 2017 and 2024, and in Sheki in 2020. Men with uveitis applied more often to Baku (55.3%) and Masally (67.5%), while women applied more often to Ganja (62.4%) and Sheki (61.1%) branches. It was found that uveitis of non-infectious etiology (59.4%) and posterior anatomical localization (37.8%) were more frequent. Uveitic ocular hypertension (UOH) was detected in 837 (29.1%) of the 2,877 patients, and uveitic glaucoma (UG) was found in 346 (12.03%). UOH was mainly observed during anterior uveitis (in 657 patients, 78.5%), while UG was found in the chronic stage of uveitis (66.5%). The fact that 40.2% of patients with UG present at an extremely advanced stage of the disease necessitates the selection of radical surgical treatment methods. Any surgical intervention performed on patients with uveitis can also lead to exacerbation of the postoperative inflammatory process.

Conclusion

Most of the uveitis cases were of non-infectious etiology (59.4%) and posterior anatomical localization (37.8%), with UOH recorded in 29.1% and UG in 12.03%. The detection of UG in the primary chronic uveitis (66.5) and the extremely advanced stage (40.2%) forces the choice of radical surgical treatment methods. In order to reduce the risk of developing UG, it is advisable to choose a multidisciplinary approach to the dispanserization, examination, and treatment of patients with uveitis, to constantly monitor patients with UOH, and to provide appropriate hypotensive and neuroprotective complex treatment in a timely manner, in addition to anti-inflammatory treatment.