Ocular manifestations of systemic vasculitis: report of six cases and review of the literature.

Purpose. - Study of characteristics of ocular involvement in systemic vascu litis. Methods. - We describe six cases of systemic vasculitis with ocular involve ment observed between 1992 and 2000. These cases are compared with those re ported in the literature. Results. - Our patients suffered from Wegener's granulomatosis (four cases) , periarteritis nodosa and Churg-Strauss syndrome. Ocular manifestations we re conjunctivitis, scleritis, orbital pseudotumor optic neuritis and extrao cular muscle palsy. These manifestations are similar to those reported in t he literature. Their treatment requires steroids and immunosuppressive drug s. In one of our cases, intravenous immunoglobulins were effective in contr olling an optic neuritis. Conclusion. - Ocular involvement in systemic vasculitis may concern any orb ital structure. It usually occurs during the course of vasculitis but may b e one of its first manifestations. It requires an appropriate treatment to prevent ophthalmic complications and especially blindness. (C) 2001 Edition s scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.