Ophthalmologic manifestations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), has been reported to have various ophthalmologic manifestations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of ophthalmologic manifestations associated with IBD in Korea.

METHODS: Sixty-one patients were examined between May 2013 and October 2014. We performed complete ophthalmologic examinations.

RESULTS: Findings included 36 patients with CD and 25 with UC. The mean age of the patients was 34±16 years and disease duration was 45.3±23.9 months. Ophthalmologic manifestations were positive in 44 cases. Primary complication was diagnosed in 5 cases, as follows; iritis in 2 cases, episcleritis in one case, iritis with optic neuritis in 1 case, and serous retinal detachment in 1 case, without secondary complications. The most common coincidental complication was dry eye syndrome (DES), in 35 patients (57.4%). The prevalence of DES in the control group was 21.3%. The proportion of DES in patients with IBD was significantly higher than in the control group (P=0.002).

CONCLUSIONS: Ophthalmologic manifestations were high (72.1%) in IBD patients. Clinically significant primary ocular inflammation occurred in 8.2% of patients. The most common complication was DES. There was a higher rate of DES in patients with IBD compared to the control group. Evaluation of the eye should be a routine component in patients with IBD.