Nurse Iris Adam Death – Uveitis is a disease process that involves inflammation of the eye. There are multiple different causes of uveitis. These include infections, inflammatory diseases, trauma, and idiopathic cases. Symptoms range from eye pain to complete vision loss. This activity reviews the etiology, pathophysiology, evaluation, and management of uveitis and highlights the role of the interprofessional team in evaluating and treating patients with this condition.
Historically, uveitis is a term used to describe inflammatory processes of the portion of the eye known as the uvea, which is composed of the iris, ciliary body, and the choroid; however, any area of the eye can be inflammed. Uveitis can be further subdivided into anterior, intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis based on the primary anatomical location of the inflammation in the eye. Symptoms and consequences can range from pain and conjunctival injection to complete vision loss. Anterior uveitis is epitomized by the anterior segment being the predominate site of inflammation. Intermediate uveitis is defined by inflammation of the vitreous cavity and pars plana, while posterior uveitis involves the retina and choroid. Inflammation in panuveitis includes all layers.
Uveitis is most often idiopathic but has been associated with traumatic, inflammatory, and infectious processes. Patients may present with concurrent systemic symptoms or infectious diseases to suggest an etiology affecting more than just the eye. The pathophysiology of uveitis in general is not well understood. Groups have hypothesized that trauma to the eye can cause cell injury or death which leads to the release of inflammatory cytokines leading to a post-traumatic uveitis. Uveitis caused by inflammatory diseases is thought to be due to molecular mimicry, where an infectious agent cross-reacts with o A complete past medical, family, and ophthalmic history (specifically surgical) is necessary for diagnosis. A full review of systems may also help identify a systemic disease with ocular manifestations. Symptoms will vary depending on the structure that is inflamed. cular-specific antigens.
