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NCT Number: NCT01162070

Evaluation of a Standardized Strategy for Uveitis Etiological Diagnosis

The Uveitis, the inflammation of the uvea, is a rare disease with an incidence of 52/100,000 inhabitants per year and a prevalence of 115 / 100,000 inhabitants per year.

The causes of uveitis are numerous and include infectious diseases, systemic and neurological diseases, ophthalmic entities, neoplasia, and drug-related reactions. The etiological diagnosis is important both for prognosis and therapeutics.

However, clinical evaluations to establish etiological diagnosis are not standardized. Some authors suggest a minimalist examination, common to all kinds of uveitis. On the other hand, others propose an evaluation guided by the anatomo-clinical type of uveitis.

We conducted a retrospective study to assess the contribution of complementary examinations to etiological determination. In this study, we found that most patients benefited from a wide paraclinical evaluation compared to what is usually described in the literature. Complementary examinations were mostly systematic, without any clinical or ophthalmological elements of orientation. This study highlighted the lack of contribution of some examinations.

Using these results, and the literature analysis, we designed a diagnostic algorithm adapted to the anatomo-clinical type of uveitis.

Moreover, we found that the average cost per patient was estimated at €290.51 with the algorithm compared to €560.83 without it.

We would like to carry out a new study to estimate the efficiency as well as the medico-economic impact of the use of a standardized strategy for the etiological diagnosis of uveitis, compared with a free strategy.

Hypothesis:

* The standardized strategy for the diagnostic of uveitis is at least as efficient as the free one, and costs half as much. * The examinations prescribed, except for those from the standardized strategy, do not contribute to etiological determination.

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Key information

Conditions

Uveitis Eye Diseases Uveal Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Service de Médecine Interne, Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)-Hôpital de la Croix Rousse

Lyon, 69004, France

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Uveitis
  • Patient consulting one of the study's sites
  • Age > 18 years old
  • Affiliation to the French national health insurance program
  • Patient agreeing to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

  • Positive HIV serology
  • Postsurgical or posttraumatic uveitis or endophthalmitis
  • Toxoplasmic uveitis
  • Pathology likely to be the cause of the known uveitis
  • Ophthalmic entities only diagnosed by the ophthalmic examination
  • Age < 18 years old
  • Patient under law protection or guardianship
  • Pregnant women or those planning to be pregnant during the study
  • Severe uveitis (VA < 20/200) with retinal vascularitis requiring an emergency treatment and assessment.

Treatment and study plan

Free strategy

Other

Free strategy followed in order to make the etiological diagnosis, which means, investigators are free to perform any examination they thought necessary.

Other names: Procedure or strategy leading to the etiological diagnosis of the uveitis.

Standardized strategy

Other

Etiological diagnosis made by following a standardized two-stage strategy: first-line assessment (listed examinations and then examinations directed by the clinical or para-clinical elements of orientation) and second or third-line assessment (examinations directed by the anatomo-clinical type of uveitis).

Primary outcomes

  1. The primary outcome is the percentage of patients having an etiological diagnosis 6 months after the beginning of the study for both strategies.

    Time frame: 6 months

    Note: Only diagnoses made at the end of the standardized strategy will be numbered in this arm of the study; all diagnoses made after by the free authorized examinations in this same arm will lead to standardized strategy failure.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Clinical criteria concerning the standardized strategy

    Time frame: 6 months

    • Percentage of patients having an established etiological diagnosis at the end of the first diagnostic stage and at the end of the second diagnostic stage. (Second or third-line assessment).
    • Ratio of the standardized strategy's first stage examinations having contributed to the etiological diagnosis.
    • Ratio of the standardized strategy's second stage examinations, directed by the anatomo-clinical type of the uveitis (Second or third-line assessment) having contributed to an etiological diagnosis.
    • Ratio of free complementary examinations having contributed to an etiological diagnosis.

  2. Clinical criteria concerning the free strategy

    Time frame: 6 months

    • Description and ratio of the examinations that have not allowed the doctor to make an etiological diagnosis.
    • Description and ratio of the complementary examinations not included in the standardized strategy.

  3. The average cost of economic criteria for each strategy.

    Time frame: 12 months

    • For each patient: The standardized strategy's average cost of diagnosis distinguishing between first diagnostic stage costs and second diagnostic stage costs (made up of the second or third-line assessment directed by the anotomo-clinical type of the uveitis).
    • Average cost of the complementary examinations not included in the standardized strategy but allowed at the end of it (subsequent free assessment).
    • Average cost for each patient of the whole free strategy.

  4. Quality of life criteria

    Time frame: : 6 months

    • Quality of life, estimated with the standard quality of life questionnaire (SF-36) and the one specific to ophthalmology (NEI VFQ-25), will be compared between these groups:
    • Uveitis diagnosis versus no diagnosis
    • Free strategy versus standardized strategy.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hospices Civils de Lyon

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Uveitis: Medico-economical and Clinical Evaluation of a Standardized Strategy for an Etiological Diagnosis

Acronym: ULISSE

Important dates

Study start
2010
Primary completion
2014
Study completion
2014
First posted
Jul 14, 2010
Registry last updated
Sep 4, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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