eMedicine Specialties > Ophthalmology > Iris & Ciliary Body

Uveitis, Anterior, Granulomatous: Follow-up

Author: Roger K George, MD, Director of Uveitis Service, Madigan Army Medical Center; Clinical Instructor, Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health and Sciences University
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Sep 5, 2007

Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

  • Patients should be observed closely, and steroids should be tapered as the inflammation resolves. It is prudent to reexamine the patient 2-3 weeks after all medications have been tapered to ensure that no residual inflammation is present.
  • Consultations with other subspecialists should be arranged, if warranted by the patient's history and laboratory workup. Consultation with a uveitis subspecialist should be considered in unusual or difficult cases, cases not responding or progressing despite appropriate maximal therapy, or cases at risk for significant visual loss.

Complications

  • Recurrent episodes of iritis and subsequent therapy may lead to cataract formation and to the development of glaucoma.

Prognosis

  • Most patients will more than likely have a recurrence of their inflammatory process.
  • The overall visual prognosis for patients with recurrent iritis is good in the absence of cataracts, glaucoma, or posterior uveitis.

Patient Education

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Although the etiology of the anterior granulomatous uveitis may be difficult to identify, it is nevertheless important to attempt to rule out all possible associated systemic disease processes.
  • Certain disease processes should be carefully considered (with important consequences if overlooked) when these patients are evaluated. Examples are intraocular lymphoma or multiple sclerosis.
  • Ensure that all possibilities in the differential diagnosis list have been adequately explored in the history and workup.
 


More on Uveitis, Anterior, Granulomatous

Overview: Uveitis, Anterior, Granulomatous
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Uveitis, Anterior, Granulomatous
Treatment & Medication: Uveitis, Anterior, Granulomatous
Follow-up: Uveitis, Anterior, Granulomatous
Multimedia: Uveitis, Anterior, Granulomatous
References
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References

  1. Lobo A, Barton K, Minassian D, du Bois RM, Lightman S. Visual loss in sarcoid-related uveitis. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. Aug 2003;31(4):310-6. [Medline].

  2. McCannel CA, Holland GN, Helm CJ, Cornell PJ, Winston JV, Rimmer TG. Causes of uveitis in the general practice of ophthalmology. UCLA Community-Based Uveitis Study Group. Am J Ophthalmol. Jan 1996;121(1):35-46. [Medline].

  3. Nussenblatt RB, Whitcup SM. Uveitis: Fundamentals and Clinical Practice. 3rd ed. Mosby-Year Book; 2003.

  4. Pepose JS, Holland GN, Wilhelmus KR. Ocular Infection and Immunity. Mosby-Year Book; 1996.

  5. Rao NA, Cousins S, Forster D. Intraocular Inflammation and Uveitis: Basic and Clinical Science Course. 1999.

  6. Rosenbaum JT, George RK. Uveitis. In: Current Ocular Therapy 5. 2000:519-21.

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Further Reading

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Keywords

iritis, iridocyclitis

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Roger K George, MD, Director of Uveitis Service, Madigan Army Medical Center; Clinical Instructor, Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health and Sciences University
Roger K George, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Uveitis Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Andrew A Dahl, MD, Residency Director, Ophthalmology, Kingston Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, Assistant Professor of Surgery (Ophthalmology), Mid Hudson Family Practice Institute
Andrew A Dahl, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and Wilderness Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Simon K Law, MD, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Jules Stein Eye Institute; Chief of Section of Ophthalmology Surgical Services, Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare Center, West Los Angeles
Simon K Law, MD, PharmD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Glaucoma Society, and Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

R Christopher Walton, MD, Director of Uveitis and Ocular Inflammatory Diseases Service, Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee College of Medicine
R Christopher Walton, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Medical Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Lance L Brown, OD, MD, Ophthalmologist, Affiliated With Freeman Hospital and St John's Hospital, Regional Eye Center, Joplin, Missouri
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Hampton Roy Sr, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Hampton Roy Sr, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Ophthalmology, American College of Surgeons, and Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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