Ophthalmology Flashcards
What is glaucoma?
optic nerve damage caused by a rise in intra-ocular pressure by blockage in aqueous humour trying to escape eye
*peripheral vision loss then total
What is the path of travel for aqueous humour?
- produced by ciliary body
- flows through posterior chamber and around iris into anterior
- drain through trabecular meshwork to canal of schlemm
- eventually entering general circulation
What is the normal intra ocular pressure?
10-21 mmHg
*created by resistance to flow through trabecular meshwork
What is the pathophysiology of acute angle-closure glaucoma?
iris bulges forward and seals off trabecular meshwork from anterior chamber, preventing aqueous drainage
What is the pathophysiology of open angle glaucoma?
gradual increase in resistance to flow through the trabecular meshwork, pressure slowly builds up
What are some risk factors of open angle glaucoma?
increasing age
family history
black ethnic origin
myopia
What are some risk factors of close-angle glaucoma?
increasing age
family history
Chinese and was asian ethnic origin
shallow anterior chambers
female
What medications might precipitate acute angle-closure?
- adrenergic eg: noradrenaline
- anticholinergic eg: oxybutynin and solifenacin
- tricyclic eg: amitriptyline
How does closed angle closure present?
- severely painful red eye
- blurred vision
- halos around lights
- associated headaches, N+V
o/e - red eye, hazy cornea, decreased visual acuity, mid-dilated pupil not reactive to light, hard eye on gentle palpation
How does open angle present?
fluctuating pain, headaches, blurred vision, halos around lights, particularly at night
*peripheral loss of vision, arcuate scotomoa, nasal step
What are some secondary causes of glaucoma?
iatrogenic, lens relates issues like cataracts, medicine related like steroids, neovascular, pigment related
How would you investigate suspected glaucoma?
- measure intra-ocular pressure with non-contact tonometry or Goldmann
- slit lamp for cup-disk ratio and angle
- visual field
- gonioscopy
How do you manage open-angle glaucoma?
360 degree selective laser trabeculoplasty
prostaglandin analogue - latanoprost
beta blocker - timolol
carbonic anhydrase inhibitor - dorzolamide
sympathomimetics
trabeculectomy
How do you manage closed angle glaucoma?
initial - pilocarpine, acetazolamide, other like timolol, latanoprost, analgesia
secondary - pilocarpine, acetazolamide, timolol, brimonidine
*Definitive - laser iridotomy
What is uveitis?
inflammation of uveal tract, comprising iris, ciliary body and choroid
*commonly uveitis
What is anterior uveitis?
iritis - which only affects the iris and iridocyclitis affects iris and ciliary body
What are some causes of iritis?
HLA-B27 conditions - AS, reactive arthritis, IBD
autoimmune - sarcoidosis, vasculitis
infection - herpes, herpes zoster
traumatic
iatrogenic - surgery, bisphosphonates
cancer - leukaemia, malignant melanoma
What is intermediate uveitis?
inflammation of ciliary body
*no pain, blurring vision, floaters
What is posterior uveitis?
inflammation of back of eye - retina or choroid
How does anterior uveitis present?
*over few hours or gradually over several
- bilateral presentation - systemic conditions
- unilateral - idiopathic or herpetic
- painful, red eye with blurring of vision
- photophobia
- tearing
- systemic - joint pain, back pain, flare up of IBD, infective sx
*chronic or intermediate and posterior - painless and decreased vision
How is anterior uveitis investigated?
general - ciliary injection, irregular pupil, cloudy cornea, hypopyon
slit lamp - ciliary flush, inflammatory cells in anterior chamber, flare, adhesions between lens and pupil
lab - bloods for HLA-B27, ANA, infectious diseases screen
OCT - macular oedema, CXR, spinal XR for AS
How is anterior uveitis managed?
*can be self limiting
- ophthalmologist referral 24h assessment
- aim to control inflammation, prevent visual loss, minimise long term complications
- topical steroid drops to reduce inflammation
- pupil dilating drops (cyclopentolate) to alleviate sx
- treat underlying
- systemic in severe - steroids and immunosuppressants
What are the complications of anterior uveitis?
- severe - vision loss
- macular oedema
- secondary cataract
- rise in intra-ocular pressure by inflammation of trabecular meshwork
What is conjunctivitis?
inflammation of the conjunctiva - thin layer of tissue that covers the inside of the eyelids and the sclera
*bacterial, viral or allergic
What is the pathophysiology of conjunctivitis?
- bacterial - staphylococcus aureus,Streptococcus pneumoniae,Haemophilus influenzae
- allergic - when in contact with allergens
- also can be from irritation like smoke, dust, wearing contact lenses longer or without cleaning etc
What is the presentation of conjunctivitis?
*no pain, photophobia or reduced visual acuity
- red, blood shot eye
- itchy, gritty sensation
- discharge + blurry vision purulent for bacterial, clear for viral, muco-purulend for chlamydial, swelling of conjunctival sac for allergic
How might you investigate conjunctivitis?
- contact lens wearers - topical fluoresceins to identify any corneal staining
- swabs for viral or chlamydial
How can you manage conjunctivitis?
*1-2w without tx
- hygiene measures, avoid spread
- clean with cooled boiled water
- chloramphenicol or fusidic acid drops
- antihistamines for allergic
- nO CONTACTS worn
When would conjunctivitis be a red flag?
👁️ neonatal - <1m urgent ophthal assessment
- gonococcal infection with permanent vision loss complications
What is scleritis?
inflammation of the sclera, which is the outer layer of connective tissue surrounding most of eye, except cornea
*RA, vasculitis like granulomatosis with polyangiitis or less commonly infection
How might scleritis present?
- red, inflamed sclera - localised or diffuse
- congested vessles
- severe pain (boring pain)
- pain with eye movement
- photophobia
- epiphoria - excessive tears
- reduced visual acuity
- tenderness to palpation of eye
*white patch on sclera if ischaemia and necrosis
How is scleritis managed?
- MDT
- NSAIDs oral
- topical or systemic steroids
- immunosuppression - for underlying condition eg:methotrexate
- antimicrobials for infectious
How is episcleritis different?
localised area, outer layer of sclera
*associated with RA and IBD
How does episcleritis present?
- localised or diffuse redness - patch in lateral sclera
- triangle of redness
- no pain or mild pain
- dilated episcleral vessels
- injected vessels are mobile when gentle pressure is applied on the sclera
- NO photophobia or discharge and normal visual acuity - SCLERITIS
How might episcleritis be investigated?
- apply phenylephrine eye drops - cause blanching of episcleral vessels causing redness to disappear
- will NOT affect scleral vessels and will not impact this redness
How is episcleritis managed?
- self limiting in 1-2w
- analgesia like ibuprofen
- lubricating eye drops
- severe - steroid eye drops
What is the pathophysiology of a corneal ulcer?
- bacterial
- viral - HSV, HZO, adeno
- other fungal, acanthamoeba
- acathamoeba - tap water bourne
How does a corneal ulcer present?
- pain - VERY, pain receptors
- photophobia
- contact lens and tap water contamination
- facial cold sores
- rash and vesicles
- recent injury and abrasions
O/E
- conjunctival injection
- infiltrate
- hypopyon
- fluroscein showing up
How is a corneal ulcer managed?
- bacterial - intensive hourly drops of fluroquinolones
- viral - topical acyclovir for a week
- fungal - intensive anti fungal and anti amoebic
What is the pathophysiology of herpes keratitis?
viral inflammation of the cornea caused by herpes simplex
- commonly epithelial layer of cornea
- primary or recurrent
How does herpes keratitis present?
- primary - mild symptoms of blepharoconjuctivitis - eyelid margins and conjunctiva
- recurrent
- painful red eye
- photophobia
- vesicles
- foreign body sensation
- watery discharge
- reduced visual acuity
How is herpes keratitis investigated?
- slit lamp with fluorescein showing dendritic corneal ulcer
- “branching” appearance of ulcer
- corneal scrapings - viral testing
How is herpes keratitis managed?
- urgent assessment
- topical or oral antivirals eg: acyclovir
- corneal transplant - treat permanent scarring and vision loss after keratitis
What is the common cause of bacterial keratitis?
Pseudomonas
Staphylococcus
How does bacterial keratitis present?
- red eye: pain and erythema
- photophobia
- foreign body, gritty sensation
- hypopyon may be seen
How might bacterial keratitis be investigated?
an accurate diagnosis can only usually be made with a slit-lamp,meaning same-day referral to an eye specialist is usually required to rule out microbial keratitis
How does bacterial keratitis manage?
- topical antibiotics
- typically quinolones are used first-line
- cycloplegic for pain relief
- e.g. cyclopentolate
What are the complications of keratitis?
- corneal scarring
- perforation
- endophthalmitis
- visual loss
What are some other causes of keratitis?
- Fungalinfection (e.g.,CandidaorAspergillus)
- Contact lens-induced acute red eye (CLARE)
- Exposure keratitis, caused by inadequate eyelid coverage (e.g ectropion)
What is age related macular degeneration?
progressive loss of central vision associated with formation of drusen or angiogenesis and changes in retinal pigmentary epithelium
*dry or wet
What is characteristic of dry macular degeneration?
drusen in buch’s membrane - undigested cellular debris from degeneration of RPE (retinal pigment epithelium) cells as a part of normal ageing process
*accumulation leads to atrophy of retinal epithelium
What characterises wet macular age degeneration?
characterised by choroidal neovascularisation - VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is a protein molecule that has critical role in angiogenesis so in wet AMD causes abnormal angiogenesis and vessel leakage
*fibrous scar tissue and central vision loss and leads to scotoma
What are some RF for AMD?
- age
- smoking
- Caucasian ethnicity
- high fat diet
- drugs like aspirin
- co-morbidities like CVS and HTN
- ocular characteristics
- light coloured iris
- hyperopia
- genetics
- complement factor H
- gene variant Y402H (drusen formation link)
How would you classify AMD?
early - few medium sized druse, mild pigmentary abnormalities
intermediate - >1 large drusen
advanced - gradual vision loss or advanced wet is rapid vision loss
How does dry AMD present?
- visual changes unilateral with
- gradual loss of central vision
- reduced visual acuity
- crooked or wavy appearance to straight lines (metamorphopsia)
- gradually worsening ability to read small text
How does wet AMD present?
👁️ wet AMD - more acutely
- visual loss within days and progress to complete within 2-3 years
- often progresses to bilateral disease
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How is AMD investigated?
- pinhole worsens
- reduced visual acuity - snellen chart
- scotoma - enlarged central area of vision loss
- amsler grid test - assess for distortion of straight lines seen in AMD
- drusen - fundoscopy
- slit lamp - detailed view of retina and macula
- optical coherence tomography - cross sectional view of retina
- fluorescein angiography - fluorescein contrast and photographing the retina to assess the blood supply
- oedema
- neovascularisation in wet AMD
How is dry AMD managed?
- no cure, ambler to monitor
- vitamin supplements in early disease
- registration with national centre for blind
- social work involvement, OT, psychology involvement
- informing DVLA if visual acuity poor
How is wet AMD managed?
*no cure - maintain functional sight, amsler grid to monitor
- 2w referral for wet AMD
- intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy - monthly
- registration with national centre for blind
- social work involvement, OT, psychology involvement
- informing DVLA if visual acuity poor
What may cause gradual vision loss?
corneal abrasion
chemical injury
cataracts
diabetic eye disease
presbyopia
What could cause corneal abrasions?
- damaged contact lenses
- associated with pseudomonal infection
- differential with herpes keratitis - antiviral
- fingernails
- foreign body - metal fragments
- tree branches
- makeup brushes
- entropion - inward turned eyelid