Acute Painful Eye Flashcards
Causes of a painful red eye
◦ Corneal abrasions
◦ Corneal ulcers
◦ Corneal foreign bodies
◦ Chemical injuries
◦ Acute anterior uveitis
◦ Anterior scleritis
◦ Acute angle-closure glaucoma
◦ Endophthalmitis
◦ Trauma
◦ Ectropion and entropion
◦ Trichiasis
- conjunctivitis
Causes of a painless red eye
Subconjunctival haemorrhage
Blepharitis
Episclertisi
Conjunctivitis
Dry eyes
Allergic conjunctivitis
What are the 2 parts of the conjunctiva?
the thin, transparent mucous membrane lining the anterior part of sclera = bulbar conjunctiva
and the under-surface of the eyelids = palpebral conjunctiva
What can cause conjunctivitis?
• allergies
• Infections
• Mechanical irritation
• Neoplasia
• Contact with toxic substances
Up to 80% of all cases of acute conjunctivitis are caused by viral infections.
But 50-75% of cases of infective conjunctivitis in children are thought to be bacterial
Most common viral - adenovirus. Others include herpes simplex, VZV, molluscum contagiosum, EBV, coxsackie, enteroviruses
Bacterial - step pneumoniae, staph aureus, H.influenza or moraxella catarrhalis in children
Whats the most common viral cause of conjunctivitis?
Adenovirus
What is acute. And chronic conjunctivitis?
Acute <4 weeks
Chronic >4 weeks
What is hyper acute conjunctivitis and what typically causes it?
rapidly developing severe conjunctivitis - typically neisseria gonorrhoeae
What is ophthalmia neonatorum?
Conjunctivitis occurring within the first 4 weeks of life
Can be infectious - neisseria gonorrhoeae or chlamydia
Or can be non infectious
What are the clinical features of conjunctivitis?
• acute onset conjunctival erythema
• Grittiness or burning or foreign body sensation
• Watering and discharge which may cause transient blurring of vision
• Purulent or Mucopurulent discharge with crusting of lids which may be stuck together on waking - bacterial
• Pre-auricular lymphadenopathy - often seen with hyperacute bacterial conjunctivitis
• Petechial Subconjunctival haemorrhages - viral
• URTI symptoms - viral
• Bilateral itching with associated swelling of eyelids and conjunctiva (chemosis) - allergic conjunctivitis!
How does herpes conjunctivitis typically present?
unilateral red eye with vesicular lesions visible on the eyelid and watery discharge
What is Hutchinson’s sign?
Herpes zoster lesions on tip of nose = ocular involvement
indicates involving of the nasociliary nerve
How does neisseria gonorrhoeae conjunctivitis typically present?
12-24 hours rapid onset with copious mucopurulent discharge, eyelid swelling and tender preauricular lymphadenaopthy
What investigation for ?ophthalmia neonatorum?
Swabs of the discharge urgently
How do we treat acute non-herpetic viral conjunctivitis?
self-limiting resolves in 1-2 weeks, self care e.g. clean eyelids with boiled and cooled water, cool compresses and avoid spreading it
Tx acute bacterial conjunctivitis?
self-limiting in 5-7 days.
If severe or circumstances required rapid relation then chloramphenicol drops 2-3 hrly, chloramphenicol ointment QDS or fusidic acid eye drops (mainly latter if pregnant)
Advice not to share towels
Moa chloramphenicol?
antimicrobial that inhibits proteins synthesis by binding 50s
How is management of conjunctivitis different in contact lens wearers?
You must advise them to Stop lens use until infection symptoms are completely gone
Same management but use topical fluorescein to identify any corneal staining
Tx allergic conjunctivitis?
Topical or systemic antihistamines
Reduce causative allergic
Topical mast cell stabilisers e.g. sodium cromoglicate can also be used
Prognosis of viral conjunctivitis, bacterial conjunctivitis and ophthalmia neonatorum?
Viral - resolves within 7 days
Bacterial - 5-10 days
Ophthalmia - Most cases are mild but untreated infections can lead to serious complications such as sight loss and mortality
What are some of the differentiating features of viral and bacterial conjunctivitis?
Bacterial - purulent discharge and eyes may be stuck together in the morning
Viral - serous discharge, recent URTI, preauricular lymphadenopathy
How should you manage bacterial conjunctivitis in women who are pregnant?
Topical fusidic acid twice daily
What is the episclera?
A thin vascular layer sandwiched between the superficial conjunctiva and deeper sclera; its the outermost layer of the sclera
What causes episcleritis?
Idiopathic in 70% of cases
related to IBD and RA
How often is episcleritis bilateral?
In 50%