IRITIS

Course overview

ACUTE ANTERIOR UVEITIS, ALSO KNOWN AS IRITIS, IS THE INFLAMMATION OF THE ANTERIOR OR POSTERIOR CHAMBER AND IRIS. IT IS NOT A TRUE OCULAR EMERGENCY, AND WITH PROPER TREATMENT AND FOLLOW-UP, IT HAS A GOOD PROGNOSIS. UVEITIS IS SUBDIVIDED INTO ANTERIOR AND POSTERIOR COMPONENTS. THE ANTERIOR TRACT IS COMPOSED OF THE IRIS AND CILIARY BODY. THE POSTERIOR TRACT INCLUDES CHOROID. UVEITIS MAY INVOLVE INFLAMMATION OF ANY OF THESE COMPONENTS AND ALSO CAN INCLUDE OTHER SURROUNDING TISSUES SUCH AS THE OPTIC NERVE, SCLERA, AND RETINA. UVEITIS IS OFTEN IDIOPATHIC, BUT IT MAY BE TRIGGERED BY GENETIC, IMMUNE, TRAUMATIC, OR INFECTIOUS MECHANISMS. SYMPTOMS OF UVEITIS DEPEND ON THE TYPE (ANTERIOR, POSTERIOR, OR INTERMEDIATE) AND DURATION (ACUTE OR CHRONIC). THIS ACTIVITY EXAMINES WHEN THIS CONDITION SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS AND HOW TO PROPERLY EVALUATE FOR IT. THIS ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN CARING FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.