Methods: Thirty-five eyes of 26 patients with uveitis associated with ankylosing spondylitis were evaluated, retrospectively. Clinical and laboratory findings of patients at time of diagnosis possibly affecting visual outcome and recurrence were analyzed.

Results: The mean follow-up period was 33.1 ± 32.7 (1-116) months, baseline best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (logMAR) was 0.33 ± 0.45, final BCVA was 0.22 ± 0.39 (p=0.02). The final BCVA (logMAR) in eyes with baseline legal blindness and cataracts was significantly higher than those without them (p<0.05). However, final BCVA was similar in males and females, in patients with unilateral or bilateral involvement, and with or without a family history, history of unilateral variable or recurrent uveitis, baseline glaucoma, macular edema or recurrence (p>0.05). The positive correlation was also detected between final and baseline BCVA (r = 0.73, p<0.001), while there was no correlation between final BCVA and age of first symptoms, time between AS and uveitis, attack duration, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, anterior chamber cell and vitreous hazy levels. When all these factors were examined in terms of recurrence; the recurrence was only affected by gender and it was higher in women than in men (70.6%vs. 33.3%, p=0.028).

Conclusion: The final BCVA in patients with uveitis associated with AS was just correlated with the baseline BCVA and influenced by baseline legal blindness and cataract. The recurrence was higher in women than in men. Keywords : Ankylosing spondylitis; recurrence; risk factors; uveitis; visual prognosis