Uveitis (Ocular Inflammation)

Uveitis is inflammation inside the eye and encompasses a variety of ocular conditions. It can affect one or both eyes and may cause eye redness, pain, light sensitivity, floaters, or blurred vision.

Uveitis is categorized as follows:

• Anterior uveitis: inflammation of the iris and/or ciliary body
• Intermediate uveitis: inflammation of the vitreous cavity and pars plana
• Posterior uveitis: inflammation of the choroid and retina
• Panuveitis: inflammation involving the anterior, intermediate, and posterior segment

Etiologies, or causes, for uveitis can include autoimmune conditions, infections, trauma, and malignancies; however, in many cases, the cause is unknown. Management of a patient with uveitis involves a careful clinical history, comprehensive ophthalmic examination, and possible additional testing such as optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, and indocyanine green angiography, depending on the type of uveitis. Uveitis is often a chronic condition, and treatment is tailored to the individual patient, anatomic location of inflammation, etiology, and clinical disease severity. Steroids (either oral, in the form of eye drops, or intraocular  injections) are commonly used to treat inflammation.  In advanced or recurrent cases, patients may also need to initiate long-term treatment with immunosuppressive medications, in which case, your retina specialist will work closely with a rheumatologist to determine the best therapeutic options.

For more information on uveitis, we welcome you to view the American Academy of Ophthalmology page. Please click here.