Pediatric uveitis is relatively uncommon, representing 5–16 % of all uveitis cases in most tertiary care centers worldwide (Maleki et al., 2022). Notably, the majority (>70 %) of pediatric uveitis cases are idiopathic (Ozdal et al., 2015, AlBloushi et al., 2022). Unlike adult uveitis, it is often asymptomatic and tends to become chronic, potentially causing damage to ocular structures. Diagnosing pediatric uveitis can be challenging due to the preverbal age of young children and the difficulties associated with examining them.

Idiopathic intermediate uveitis (IU) is a rare, chronic inflammatory ocular disease, primarily involving the anterior vitreous, ciliary body, and peripheral retina (Song et al., 2022a). The term specifically refers to cases where the vitreous is the main site of inflammation (Jabs et al., 2005). Anterior uveitis (AU) is consistently the most common form in children globally (Song et al., 2022b). Children with chronic AU often exhibit peripheral vascular leakage (PVL) detected through ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWFFA), even when no vitreous cell (VC) or retinal lesions are apparent (Calvo and Hartnett, 2018). Clinically, we observed that a high proportion of patients with active anterior chamber inflammation, accompanied by peripheral vascular pathology and mild vitreous cells, along with macular edema. These patients typically require systemic treatment, as corticosteroid eye drops are insufficient for long-term inflammation control.

In this retrospective study, to more accurately characterize this type of uveitis, we named it with pediatric anterior and intermediate uveitis (PAIU) based on anatomic classification using the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) criteria (Jabs et al., 2005). We described the general characteristics, clinical features, complications, treatment, and clinical value of multimodal imaging in the management of a cohort of patients with PAIU in China and investigated the factors associated with clinical outcomes.