International Coalition Classifies 25 Subtypes of Uveitis

Article: International coalition classifies 25 subtypes of uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease
Source: National Eye Institute
Published: June 7, 2021

The Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) Working Group, an international coalition of uveitis experts, developed classification criteria for 25 of the most common types of uveitis. Collectively describing over 30 eye diseases characterized by inflammation of the eye, these diseases together comprise the fifth leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the National Eye Institute. Such inflammation can be seen in structures beyond the uvea, depending on the type of disease, and have different causes, courses, prognoses, and treatment needs. As the project lead comments, "The agreement among uveitis experts on the diagnosis of individual diseases was modest at best." Until recently, the classification of uveitis was based on the primary location of inflammation, such as anterior and posterior uveitis, or intermediate uveitis and panuveitis. To help them identify the important characteristics that distinguished each disease, the team first used informatics to standardize language used to describe the individual diseases, followed by formal consensus techniques among nine uveitis experts reviewing 5,766 cases (averaging 100-250 of each uveitis type), and finally applied machine learning to the 4,046 cases that had at least 75% agreement among the expert reviewers. The overall performance of the criteria was over 90% within uveitic class. Such a classification system would greatly enhance research efforts in "epidemiological studies, translational studies, pathogenesis research, outcomes research, and clinical trials," says the project lead, and "hopefully will yield better disease-specific approaches to diagnosis and treatment."

My rating of this study: ⭐⭐⭐

The Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) Working Group. "Development of Classification Criteria for the Uveitides." American Journal of Ophthalmology.  228:96-105. 9 April 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2021.03.061