Rheumathoid arthritis is the most common collagenosis and affects almost 0.6% of brazilian population. It is an important cause of articular deformities. The main ocular manifestation of rheumathoid arthritis is dry eyes (secondary Sjögren's syndrome), followed by scleritis, peripheral ulcerative keratitis and uveitis. The aim of this paper is to present a case of anterior uveitis in the absence of scleritis in a patient with rheumathoid arthritis, a very rare presentation in this type of patient. Female patient, 55 years old, with rheumathoid arthritis, presenting suddenly ocular pain and low vision in the right eye. Her exam showed anterior chamber reaction with hypopion, peripheral corneal keratitis and intraocular pressure of 32 mmHg. She was diagnosed with hypertensive anterior uveitis and peripheral corneal keratitis and treated with systemic and topical corticosteroids, topical antibiotic, topic and systemic ocular hypotensive and mydriatic drops. Anterior uveitis is common in rheumatological diseases, especially in those soronegative arthropathies related to HLA B27. In this paper we present a patient with rheumathoid arthritis and anterior uveitis in the absence of scleritis, a rare presentation in actual medical literature.
Keywords: Arthritis, rheumatoid; Keratoconjunctivitis sicca; Scleritis; Corneal ulcer; Uveitis, anterior; Adrenal cortex hormones; HLA-DR4 antigen; HLA-B27 antigen; Humans; Middle aged; Female; Case reports