eMedicine Specialties > Ophthalmology > Iris & Ciliary Body

Uveitis, Anterior, Nongranulomatous: 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 require close follow-up care, with steroids tapered as the inflammation resolves.
  • Patients should be reexamined 2-3 weeks after all medications have been tapered to ensure that no residual inflammation is present.

Complications

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

Prognosis

  • Most patients can expect to have a recurrence of iritis.
  • Overall, the visual prognosis for patients with recurrent iritis is good in the absence of either cataract formation or glaucoma.

Patient Education

  • If the patient has known or newly diagnosed HLA-B27 disease, the patient should be instructed to always keep a bottle of steroids handy.
    • The patient should instill the steroid at the first sign of an iritis flare.
    • The patient should come into the office as soon as possible to confirm the presence or absence of the iritis.
  • For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicine's Eye and Vision Center. Also, see eMedicine's patient education articles Anatomy of the Eye and Iritis.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Because uveitis may be part of a systemic syndrome, exploring the patient's medical history and performing a full review of systems is critical. By failing to do so, a systemic process may be missed.
  • Failure to make the diagnosis and refer the patient to an appropriate subspecialist may result in undue morbidity.
 


More on Uveitis, Anterior, Nongranulomatous

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

  1. Kump LI, Cervantes-Castaneda RA, Androudi SN, Foster CS. Analysis of pediatric uveitis cases at a tertiary referral center. Ophthalmology. Jul 2005;112(7):1287-92. [Medline].

  2. Mackensen F, Smith JR, Rosenbaum JT. Enhanced recognition, treatment, and prognosis of tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome. Ophthalmology. May 2007;114(5):995-9. [Medline].

  3. 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].

  4. Menezo V, Lightman S. The development of complications in patients with chronic anterior uveitis. Am J Ophthalmol. Jun 2005;139(6):988-92. [Medline].

  5. Nussenblatt RB, Whitcup SM. Uveitis: Fundamentals and Clinical Practice. 3rd ed. 2003.

  6. Pepose JS, Holland GN, Wilhelmus KR. Ocular Infection and Immunity. 1996.

  7. 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, iris, ciliary body, iritis flare, cell and flare, anterior uveitis

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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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