SAT0451 Methotrexate Therapy may Prevent the Onset of Uveitis in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Objectives To evaluate whether early treatment with methotrexate (MTX) prevents the onset of uveitis in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods The clinical charts of all consecutive patients seen between January 2002 and February 2011 who had a disease duration 2 /week (maximum 25 mg/week) in all patients. In each patient, the 2-year follow-up period after first visit was examined to establish whether uveitis had or had not occurred. Results A total of 254 patients with a median disease duration at first visit of 0.3 years were included. As many as 91.6% of patients were ANA-positive. Eighty-six (33.9%) patients were treated with MTX, whereas 168 (66.1%) patients did not receive MTX. During the 2-year follow-up, 211 (83.1%) patients did not develop uveitis, whereas 43 (16.9%) patients had uveitis, which was diagnosed a median of 1.0 year after first visit. The frequency of uveitis was lower in patients who were given MTX than in patients who did not receive this medication (10.5% vs. 20.2%, respectively; p = 0.049). Survival analysis confirmed that patients treated with MTX had a lower probability of developing uveitis. Conclusions Early MTX therapy may prevent the onset of uveitis in children with JIA. The potential of MTX to reduce the incidence of ocular disease should be investigated in a randomized controlled trial. Disclosure of Interest None Declared