iritis

Iritis is a form of anterior uveitis and refers to the inflammation of the iris of the eye.

Types

A case of Iritis of the right eye

There are two main types of iritis: acute and chronic. They differ in numerous ways. Acute iritis is a type of iritis that can heal independently within a few weeks. If treatment is provided, acute iritis improves quickly. Chronic iritis can exist for months or years before recovery occurs. Chronic iritis does not respond to treatment as well as acute iritis does. Chronic iritis is also accompanied by a higher risk of serious visual impairment.

Signs and symptoms

• Ocular and periorbital pain
• Photophobia
• Consensual photophobia (pain in affected eye when light is shone in unaffected eye)
• Blurred or cloudy vision
• Reddened eye, especially adjacent to the iris
• White blood cells (leukocytes) (seen as tiny white dots, clinically termed cells) and protein (resulting in a grey or near-white haze, clinically termed flare) leak into the anterior chamber.
• Synechia (adhesion of iris to lens or cornea)
• motion sickness

Causes and Comorbidities

• Physical eye trauma^[1]

Inflammatory and Autoimmune Disorders:

• Ankylosing Spondylitis and other HLA-B27 related disorders^[2]
• Iridocyclitis, and other forms of uveal tract inflammation.
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Behcet's disease
• Crohn's disease
• Lupus^[2]
• Reactive arthritis
• Chronic psoriasis
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Sarcoidosis
• Scleroderma
• Ulcerative colitis
• Gout^[1]

Infections:

• Tuberculosis^[2]
• Lyme Disease^[3]
• Syphilis^[3]
• Toxoplasmosis^[3][2]
• Toxocaridae^[2]
• Herpes Simplex^[3]
• Herpes Zoster Virus^[3]

Cancers:

• Leukemia^[1]
• Lymphoma^[1]
• Malignant melanoma^[1]

Iritis is usually secondary to some other systemic condition, but can be the only apparent somatic symptom.

Complications

Complications of iritis may include the following:

• Cataract
• glaucoma
• corneal calcification
• posterior uveitis
• blindness
• band keratopathy
• cystoid macular oedema.

Treatment

Eye treated with dilating eye drops (Atropine).

• Steroid anti-inflammatory eye drops (such as prednisolone acetate)
• Dilating eye drops (to help prevent synechia and reduce photophobia)
• Pressure-reducing eye drops (such as brimonidine tartrate)
• Oral steroids (such as prednisone)
• Subconjunctival steroid injections
• Steroid-sparing agents such as methotrexate (for prolonged, chronic iritis)

References

External links

• Care of the Patient with Anterior Uveitis (CPG7) (PDF)
• Iritis Organization
• Assessment of the Red Eye - Iritis
• Medical Info on Iritis