Common Causes Of Red Eye In Patients Presenting To An Ophthalmology Department Conjunctivitis, Keratitis, Uveitis
Keywords:
Red eye, Conjunctivitis, Keratitis, UveitisAbstract
Background: Red eye is commonly seen in the clinic setting, with conditions ranging from the comparatively harmless conjunctivitis to more threatening Conditions Such as Keratitis and uveitis, which can lead to vision loss. Distinguishing between these conditions is essential to ensure prompt management and improve referral accuracy. Knowledge of local epidemiology allows clinicians to fine-tune the diagnostic process and practice epidemiologically based medicine as efficiently as possible, particularly in ophthalmology with scarce resources.
Objectives: To assess the prevalence of conjunctivitis, Keratitis, and uveitis among patients presenting with a red eye, and to evaluate the clinical characteristics, demographics, and primary risk factors that enable early diagnosis, and to analyze the clinical features.
Methodology This Cross Sectional Study Conducted at Department of Ophthalmology, Gajju Khan Medical College Swabi From Jan 2023 To Jan 2024.Patients with unilateral or bilateral red eyes were included once informed consent was obtained. Data were collected on patients' demographics, clinical features, visual acuity, and clinical risk factors. A slit lamp examination, fluorescein staining, and anterior chamber were performed to diagnose conjunctivitis, Keratitis, or uveitis. If needed, intraocular pressure and fundus examinations were performed. SPSS version 24 was used to analyze the data, and frequencies, means, chi-square tests, and p-values were computed at an alpha of 0.05.
Results: A total of one hundred patients with red eyes were assessed. Diagnoses of conjunctivitis were most common (57%). This was followed by keratitis (25%) and then uveitis (18%). Allergic conjunctivitis was most prevalent (40%). For the cases of keratitis, 64% (most were due to an infection), and 22% of the cases were trauma-related. The majority of uveitis cases were anterior (83%) with 17% being of the systemic disease type. Pain and photophobia were strongly associated with keratitis and uveitis (p < 0.001). Increased discharge was strongly correlated with conjunctivitis (p < 0.001). Most of the conjunctivitis cases improved quickly, however, keratitis needed advanced aggressive antivirals to resolve.
Conclusion: The most common cause of red eyes is conjunctivitis; however, Keratitis and uveitis also significantly contribute to morbidity. There is a much higher likelihood of better outcomes with early diagnosis, understanding of risk factors, and appropriate, timely intervention
Downloads
References
Fukuda K, Mizobuchi T, Nakajima I, Kishimoto T, Miura Y, Taniguchi Y. Ocular Involvement in Relapsing Polychondritis. Journal of clinical medicine. 2021;10(21).
2. Griggs A. Ocular Surface Disease in Birds. The veterinary clinics of North America Exotic animal practice. 2019;22(1):53-68.
3. Hossain IT, Sanghi P, Manzouri B. Pharmacotherapeutic management of atopic keratoconjunctivitis. Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy. 2020;21(14):1761-9.
4. Kreutzer TC, Priglinger SG. [The inflamed eye]. MMW Fortschritte der Medizin. 2020;162(2):52-6.
5. Mueller RS, Hartmann K. Interferon therapies in small animals. Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997). 2021;271:105648.
6. Tanke LB, Kim EJ, Butterfield SD, Ashby GB, Bothun ED, Hodge DO, et al. Incidence and clinical characteristics of paediatric keratitis. The British journal of ophthalmology. 2023;107(9):1253-7.
7. Tauqeer Z, Bunya VY, Macchi I, Massaro-Giordano M. Ocular Pathophysiology of Sjögren's Syndrome. Ocular immunology and inflammation. 2021;29(4):796-802.
8. Yusef YN, Kazaryan EE, Andzhelova DV, Vorobyova MV. [Ophthalmological manifestations of post-COVID-19 syndrome]. Vestnik oftalmologii. 2021;137(5. Vyp. 2):331-9.
9. Bruyn GA, Wong P. The Genesis of Sjögren. Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie. 2022;81(9):787-91.
10. Demerdjieva Z, Mazhdrakova I, Tsankov N. Ocular changes in patients with psoriasis. Clinics in dermatology. 2019;37(6):663-7.
11. Kowalski RP, Nayyar SV, Romanowski EG, Shanks RMQ, Mammen A, Dhaliwal DK, et al. The Prevalence of Bacteria, Fungi, Viruses, and Acanthamoeba From 3,004 Cases of Keratitis, Endophthalmitis, and Conjunctivitis. Eye & contact lens. 2020;46(5):265-8.
12. Lee JY, Kim JW, Kim EJ, Lee MY, Nam CW, Chung IS. Spatial analysis between particulate matter and emergency room visits for conjunctivitis and keratitis. Annals of occupational and environmental medicine. 2018;30:41.
13. Lessing JN, Slingsby TJ, Betz M. Hyperacute Gonococcal Keratoconjunctivitis. Journal of general internal medicine. 2019;34(3):477-8.
14. Liang QF, Du XH, Su GY, Zhang Y, Wang ZQ, Cao K. [Genetic typing and susceptibility testing of strains from Staphylococcus aureus keratitis or conjunctivitis patients]. [Zhonghua yan ke za zhi] Chinese journal of ophthalmology. 2018;54(10):767-74.
15. Moshirfar M, Masud M, Shah TJ, Avila MR, Hoopes PC, Sr. Chemical conjunctivitis and diffuse lamellar keratitis after removal of eyelash extensions. American journal of ophthalmology case reports. 2018;12:21-3.
16. Pflugfelder SC, Stern ME. The cornea in keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Experimental eye research. 2020;201:108295.
17. Rodrigues J, Kuruvilla ME, Vanijcharoenkarn K, Patel N, Hom MM, Wallace DV. The spectrum of allergic ocular diseases. Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. 2021;126(3):240-54.
18. Thakur A, Chaudhary T, Kulshreshtha A, Gupta A. Corneal sub-epithelial infiltrates. QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians. 2020;113(8):575.
.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
