Corneal confocal microscopy in the diagnosis of non-infectious etiology uveitis

Abstract

Uveitis is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Uveitis accounts for 10 to 15% of cases of complete vision loss and up to 35% of reversible vision loss. Particularly alarming is the fact that the debut of uveitis is recorded at a young working age. Uveitis includes a heterogeneous group consisting of at least 30 nosologies associated with various etiologies. The prognosis of the disease directly depends on the timely detection of its etiology. The review analyzes widely used methods for diagnosing patients with non-infectious uveitis. Special attention is paid to the advantages of confocal microscopy of the cornea, as the most modern non-invasive method that allows a detailed quantitative assessment of corneal subepithelial nerve plexuses and dendritic cells, the number of which increases during inflammatory processes, as well as a qualitative analysis of corneal precipitates and endothelial cells. Early detection of uveitis, which is an extra-articular manifestation of spondyloarthritis, allows appropriate treatment of severe systemic disease. It is assumed that the use of new approaches in the diagnosis of uveitis will prevent the development of severe complications up to complete loss of vision and improve the quality of life of patients.