Key Concepts Despite efforts at disease prevention, in 2017, the annual number of diagnoses of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States was 11.8 per 100,000 population, and HIV infection remains a global epidemic. Vasculopathy with cotton-wool spots…
Key Concepts Spirochetal diseases that cause uveitis include a gamut of historical and clinical infections, including syphilis, endemic syphilis, Lyme disease, relapsing fever, and leptospirosis. Syphilis remains a common and frequently missed, but treatable, cause of uveitis. Ocular findings can…
Key Concepts Infection remains a common cause of uveitis. Better diagnostic tests are helping to identify specific bacteria as the cause of a number of uveitic conditions, such as bartonellosis as the cause of cat scratch disease. Prompt diagnosis is…
Key Concepts Inflammatory disease needs to be clinically quiescent for at least 3 months before elective surgery is considered. Adequate immunosuppressive therapy perioperatively is very important. Surgery needs to be considered when there is something to save, not when the…
Key Concepts Therapy is guided by the etiology of the inflammation (infectious versus noninfectious), severity, and anatomic location. Corticosteroid therapy can be used to quiet acute inflammation, but steroid-sparing therapies must be added if systemic corticosteroids cannot be tapered successfully…
Key Concepts All published literature does not have equal import. All medical literature, including this book, must be read critically. Whenever possible, treatment decisions should be based on evidence-based medicine. The practice of evidence-based medicine is defined as the conscientious,…
Key Concepts Optical coherence tomography (OCT) using low-coherence, long-wavelength light can produce high-resolution images of all layers of the retina as well as the choroid and vitreous. Two types of OCT devices are most commonly used in ophthalmology today: spectral-domain…
Key concepts Mistakes in ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests can lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate therapy. Diagnostic tests, including laboratory tests and imaging studies, should be ordered to narrow down the differential diagnosis. Clinicians must know the sensitivity and specificity…
Key Concepts Diagnosis of uveitis is often challenging, and developing an erudite differential diagnosis is the key to success. Classification of uveitis is the first step and is guided by a series of questions that can be answered from both…
Key Concepts A thorough clinical ophthalmic examination is critical for both diagnosis and assessment of response to therapy. Use of standardized grading scales for assessing intraocular inflammation can improve patient management. Standard grading scales are available for assessment of anterior…