Quantitative and qualitative assessment of anterior segment optical coherence tomography capture of disease state in childhood anterior uveitis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) assessment of anterior chamber inflammation is an emerging tool. We describe the performance of AS-OCT in a paediatric population. METHODS: A mixed-methods prospective study, using routine clinical assessment as reference standard, and AS-OCT, with Tomey CASIA2 or Heidelberg Spectralis HS1, as index test, with data collected on patient perceptions of imaging. Repeatability, diagnostic indices, responsiveness to clinical change and clinical correlations of imaging-based metrics (image cell count, size, density and brightness) were assessed, with construction of receiver operated characteristic curves. Exploratory thematic analysis of responses from families was undertaken. RESULTS: A total of 90 children (180 eyes) underwent imaging. Bland Altman limits of agreement for CASIA2 repeatability ranged from +17 cells (95% CI 13.6 to 21.1) to -19 cells (95% CI -15.6 to -23.2) and HS1 from +1 (95% CI 0.9 to 1.2) to -1.0 (-1.2 to -0.8) cells. CASIA2 imaging had higher sensitivity of 0.92 (95% CI 0.78 to 0.97) vs HS1 imaging 0.17 (95% CI 0.07 to 0.34), with positive correlation between clinical grade and CASIA2 cell count (coefficient 12.8, p=0.02, 95% CI 2.2 to 23.4). Change in clinical grade at follow-up examinations correlated with change in image based 'cell' count (r2=0.79, p<0.001). Patients reported a potential positive impact of seeing their disease activity. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that OCT-based imaging holds the promise of deeper understanding of disease, improved patient experience and more granular monitoring of activity with resultant improved outcomes, but further work is needed to refine acquisition and analysis protocols.

Development of a Nationally Agreed Core Clinical Dataset for Childhood Onset Uveitis.

Background: Childhood onset uveitis comprises a group of rare inflammatory disorders characterized by clinical heterogeneity, chronicity, and uncertainties around long term outcomes. Standardized, detailed datasets with harmonized clinical definitions and terminology are needed to enable the clinical research necessary to stratify disease phenotype and interrogate the putative determinants of health outcomes. We aimed to develop a core routine clinical collection dataset for clinicians managing children with uveitis, suitable for multicenter and national clinical and experimental research initiatives. Methods: Development of the dataset was undertaken in three phases: phase 1, a rapid review of published datasets used in clinical research studies; phase 2, a scoping review of disease or drug registries, national cohort studies and core outcome sets; and phase 3, a survey of members of a multicenter clinical network of specialists. Phases 1 and 2 provided candidates for a long list of variables for the dataset. In Phase 3, members of the UK's national network of stakeholder clinicians who manage childhood uveitis (the Pediatric Ocular Inflammation Group) were invited to select from this long-list their essential items for the core clinical dataset, to identify any omissions, and to support or revise the clinical definitions. Variables which met a threshold of at least 95% agreement were selected for inclusion in the core clinical dataset. Results: The reviews identified 42 relevant studies, and 9 disease or drug registries. In total, 138 discrete items were identified as candidates for the long-list. Of the 41 specialists invited to take part in the survey, 31 responded (response rate 78%). The survey resulted in inclusion of 89 data items within the final core dataset: 81 items to be collected at the first visit, and 64 items at follow up visits. Discussion: We report development of a novel consensus core clinical dataset for the routine collection of clinical data for children diagnosed with non-infectious uveitis. The development of the dataset will provide a standardized approach to data capture able to support observational clinical studies embedded within routine clinical care and electronic patient record capture. It will be validated through a national prospective cohort study, the Uveitis in childhood prospective national cohort study (UNICORNS).

Consensus-based recommendations for the management of uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: the SHARE initiative.

BACKGROUND: In 2012, a European initiative called Single Hub and Access point for pediatric Rheumatology in Europe (SHARE) was launched to optimise and disseminate diagnostic and management regimens in Europe for children and young adults with rheumatic diseases. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common rheumatic disease in children and uveitis is possibly its most devastating extra-articular manifestation. Evidence-based guidelines are sparse and management is mostly based on physicians' experience. Consequently, treatment practices differ widely, within and between nations. OBJECTIVES: To provide recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of JIA-associated uveitis. METHODS: Recommendations were developed by an evidence-informed consensus process using the European League Against Rheumatism standard operating procedures. A committee was constituted, consisting of nine experienced paediatric rheumatologists and three experts in ophthalmology from Europe. Recommendations derived from a validated systematic literature review were evaluated by an Expert Committee and subsequently discussed at two consensus meetings using nominal group techniques. Recommendations were accepted if >80% agreement was reached (including all three ophthalmologists). RESULTS: In total, 22 recommendations were accepted (with >80% agreement among experts): 3 on diagnosis, 5 on disease activity measurements, 12 on treatment and 2 on future recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: The SHARE initiative aims to identify best practices for treatment of patients suffering from JIA-associated uveitis. Within this remit, recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of JIA-associated uveitis have been formulated by an evidence-informed consensus process to suggest a standard of care for JIA-associated uveitis patients throughout Europe.