| Presentation preference | Oral presentation |
| Title | Long-term follow-up of combination therapy with rituximab and mycophenolate mofetil in refractory chronic recurrent uveitis associated with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease |
| Accept poster if oral is not possible ? | No |
| Purpose | Evaluate the long-term follow-up of combination therapy with rituximab (RTX) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in refractory chronic recurrent uveitis associated with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease |
| Methods | Retrospective case series of patients with refractory chronic recurrent uveitis associated with VKH disease, treated with RTX and MMF. Patients received oral MMF (2g daily) and intravenous RTX at a dose of 1000mg per infusion on days 1 and 15, followed by an infusion at 6 months. RTX infusions were repeated after at least 6 months in cases of uveitis relapse.
The following ocular parameters were monitored: best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), laser flare photometry (LFP), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) measurement by enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT), fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography. Follow-up was conducted over a period of five years |
| Results | Six patients, 2 males (12 eyes), with a median age of 49.0±16.6 years (range 17-66), were treated with oral MMF and received a mean of 4.5 RTX intravenous infusions. Mean BCVA improved from 20/32 at baseline to 20/25 at follow-up(p=0.02). Mean LFP decreased from 12.6ph/ms (SD=4.2) to 5.9ph/ms (SD=2.5)(p<0.001), while mean SFCT on EDI-OCT decreased from 415.9 µm (SD=217.0) to 276.4µm (SD=124.7)(p=0.01). Patients who required fewer infusions had a higher likelihood of remission. No systemic treatment complications were reported during follow-up |
| Conclusion | Long-term follow-up of combination therapy with MMF and RTX in chronic recurrent uveitis associated with VKH disease showed a corticosteroid-sparing effect and control of ocular inflammation |
| Conflict of interest | No |
1
| Last name | BOLLETTA |
| Initials of first name(s) | E |
| Department | Ocular Immunology Unit, AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia |
| City | Reggio Emilia |
| Country | Italy |
2
| Last name | BELLETTI |
| Initials of first name(s) | M |
| Department | Ophthalmology Unit, University of Bologna |
| City | Bologna |
| Country | Italy |
3
| Last name | GIBERTINI |
| Initials of first name(s) | M |
| Department | Ophthalmology Unit, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia |
| City | Modena |
| Country | Italy |
4
| Last name | DE SIMONE |
| Initials of first name(s) | L |
| Department | Ocular Immunology Unit, AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia |
| City | Reggio Emilia |
| Country | Italy |
5
| Last name | GOZZI |
| Initials of first name(s) | F |
| Department | Ocular Immunology Unit, AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia |
| City | Reggio Emilia |
| Country | Italy |
6
| Last name | GENTILE |
| Initials of first name(s) | P |
| Department | Ocular Immunology Unit, AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia; University of Modena and Reggio Emilia |
| City | Reggio Emilia |
| Country | Italy |
7
| Last name | CIMINO |
| Initials of first name(s) | L |
| Department | Ocular Immunology Unit, AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia; University of Modena and Reggio Emilia |
| City | Reggio Emilia |
| Country | Italy |
