# Anterior Uveitis (Iridocyclitis) - Category: chronic - Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page) - Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class FD03.01 - condition scope only, no dose · Iritis - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430909/ · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care - Verified date: 2026-08 ## Verified against - No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care - Anterior Uveitis (Iridocyclitis) - disease-level clinical article (anterior-uveitis-clinical.txt) ## Treatment metadata - No drug therapy in primary care (Referral & Advice) ## Complete treatment card ```text ANTERIOR UVEITIS (IRIDOCYCLITIS) Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class FD03.01 - condition scope only, no dose · Iritis - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430909/ · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care Review status: REVIEWED against No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care, Anterior Uveitis (Iridocyclitis) - disease-level clinical article (anterior-uveitis-clinical.txt) (2026-08) IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination SYMPTOMS - what the patient reports (5) - Typical ocular symptoms are pain, photophobia, redness, floaters, and decreased vision [floaters · photophobia · redness] - Joint pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, dry cough, and rash can point to sarcoidosis and warrant a chest x-ray [breathlessness · cough · fatigue · joint pain · rash] - Cough, night sweats, weight loss, or a travel history can raise suspicion for tuberculosis [cough · night sweats · weight loss] - A sexual history may prompt additional testing for syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections - Uveitis can be idiopathic or tied to systemic disease, so a broad review of systems is important SIGNS - what you find (3) - Exam starts with visual acuity and intraocular pressure, then pupil exam, slit-lamp exam, and a dilated fundus exam - Slit-lamp exam of the front of the eye may show mutton-fat precipitates on the inner corneal surface, cells in the aqueous, and iris nodules - Findings in the back of the eye may include cells in the vitreous, snowball opacities, inflamed retinal vessels, and choroidal lesions that are focal or spread out TESTS (8) - Baseline labs - CBC, ESR, CRP - help gauge inflammation and are guided by clinical suspicion - Infectious work-up can include a TB skin test or interferon-gamma release assay plus nontreponemal and treponemal syphilis testing - Non-infectious work-up can include serum ACE, calcium, and HLA-B27, plus HLA-DR15/HLA-A29 in younger patients when birdshot chorioretinopathy is suspected - Chest x-ray, with CT chest if abnormal, is more sensitive for diagnosing sarcoidosis - Conjunctival biopsy can find noncaseating granulomas in a large minority of sarcoidosis patients - When infection or malignancy is possible, sampling the aqueous or vitreous - by paracentesis, tap, or vitrectomy - can pick up microbial genetic material or special antibody ratios - Fluorescein angiography is the gold-standard test for the blood-retinal barrier and for identifying retinal vasculitis - Tonometry and assessment of the iridocorneal angle separate acute angle-closure glaucoma from uveitis IF NOT THIS - what else fits (7) - Nongranulomatous uveitis, often idiopathic or HLA-B27-linked, has smaller keratic precipitates, a more acute onset, more pain, and usually no iris nodules or mutton-fat deposits - Conjunctivitis shows diffuse rather than perilimbal injection, no anterior chamber cells, and often discharge - Scleritis brings deep aching pain, pain on eye movement, scleral edema, and nonblanching dilated scleral vessels - Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis is almost always one-sided, low-grade and nonrelapsing, with fine diffuse keratic precipitates and iris atrophy with heterochromia - In acute angle-closure glaucoma, look for a sluggish, mid-sized fixed pupil, corneal clouding, and markedly elevated pressure, frequently above 40 mm Hg - Endophthalmitis is favored by disproportionate pain, lid edema, chemosis, rapid vision loss, dense vitritis, and recent trauma, surgery, or injection - Masquerade syndromes such as intraocular lymphoma, uveal melanoma, retinoblastoma, or metastasis can mimic uveitis with chamber cell/flare and vitritis Source StatPearls "Granulomatous Uveitis" - disease-level clinical article Status traced to the source above 1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE) [1st line] Adult Inflammation inside the front of the eye causing pain, redness and light sensitivity; it is sight-threatening, so a GP's role is same-day ophthalmology referral, with cycloplegic or steroid drops normally only started under specialist slit-lamp guidance. - Refer, with advice Peds Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is implied. Source No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care Why Inflammation inside the front of the eye causing pain, redness and light sensitivity; it is sight-threatening, so a GP's role is same-day ophthalmology referral, with cycloplegic or steroid drops normally only started under specialist slit-lamp guidance. Caution No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to. RED FLAG - Signs favoring endophthalmitis (disproportionate pain, lid edema, chemosis, rapid vision decline, recent ocular trauma or surgery) require urgent differentiation from uveitis. RED FLAG - Severe eye pain, photophobia and reduced vision, or pus visible in the front of the eye (hypopyon): same-day ophthalmology referral. Untreated, it risks secondary glaucoma and cataract. Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy. ``` --- Dawaa Reference is a reference for prescribers, not a medical device, and does not replace clinical judgement. [Privacy policy](/privacy)