Clinical features and incidence of visual improvement following systemic antibiotic treatment in patients with syphilitic uveitis

Abstract

To describe the clinical features, longitudinal pattern, and incidence rate of improvement of visual acuity (VA) following antibiotic therapy in patients with syphilitic uveitis. A total of 36 patients were included in this retrospective study from 2009 to 2020. The longitudinal patterns of mean VA values during follow-up were analyzed using a linear mixed model. Most patients were men with HIV coinfection (81%) and presented with panuveitis (49%). The mean VA at baseline improved from 0.97 to 0.39 logMAR at 6 months and remained stable thereafter. The cumulative incidence of VA ≥ 20/25 achieved by 2 years was 70%. Receiving antibiotic therapy within four weeks of the onset of ocular symptoms (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 3.4, P = 0.012), absence of HIV coinfection (aHR 8.2, P < 0.001), absence of neurosyphilis (aHR 6.5, P = 0.037), better presenting VA (aHR 5.0, P = 0.003), and intermediate uveitis as opposed to panuveitis (aHR 11.5, P = 0.013) were predictive of achieving VA ≥ 20/25. Men with HIV coinfection represented the majority of our patients. Visual outcomes, in response to antibiotics, were favorable. Delayed treatment, poor presenting VA, presence of HIV coinfection, and concomitant neurosyphilis decreased the likelihood of VA restoration.