Acute Iridocyclitis - Treatment, Symptoms, Causes

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Iridocyclitis

Inflammation of the iris (Latin iris) and the ciliary, or ciliary body (Latin corpus ciliare), which are part of the choroid, is called iridocyclitis. Iridocyclitis is dangerous in that it affects more often people of the most active age - from 20 to 40 years old, although it occurs in children and the elderly. Iridocyclitis can be caused by various reasons, and, depending on this, has a different course, but in general it responds well to therapy, despite the tendency to relapse in some forms of the disease. However, in the absence of timely treatment, iridocyclitis can lead to loss of vision.

Causes of iridocyclitis

The cause of iridocyclitis can be systemic autoimmune diseases (iridocyclitis is found in 40% of people with this pathology), infectious diseases of the body or the presence in the body of foci of chroniosepsis, such as teeth destroyed by the carious process, as well as eye injuries, including those of an operational origin. Depending on the cause, iridocyclitis has a specific form of the course, as well as the prognosis of the disease.

Types of iridocyclitis

Depending on the nature of the flow:

• acute iridocyclitis;
• subacute;
• chronic;
• recurrent.

Based on the cause, iridocyclitis is divided into:

• toxic-allergic (they are also infectious-allergic), these include rheumatic, gouty, diabetic, influenza, gonorrheal, herpetic, etc., these include rheumatic, influenza, but in unfavorable conditions it can turn into chronic and even p corresponding;
• metastatic, including syphilitic, tuberculous, brucellosis, etc.;
• traumatic.

Also by origin iridocyclitis are:

• endogenous (the cause of iridocyclitis inside the body);
• exogenous (traumatic, including postoperative).

Depending on the characteristics of the course:

• granulomatous iridocyclitis, in which granulomas form in the iris and ciliary body, which are accumulations of lymphoid, epithelioid, giant living and dead cells;
• nongranulomatous iridocyclitis, in which the effusion of fibrinous exudate occurs in the iris and ciliary body.

Depending on the form of the inflammatory process, iridocyclitis is:

• serous;
• purulent;
• fibrous, or plastic;
• hemorrhagic;
• mixed.

Iridocyclitis symptoms

Symptoms of iridocyclitis can occur in one eye or both. Symptoms of iridocyclitis in various forms of the disease have some features, but there are general signs that are characteristic of all types of this pathology. Common symptoms of iridocyclitis include: increased sensitivity to light, up to photophobia, pain in the eye, aggravated by pressing on the eye and radiating along the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve, redness of the eye (conjunctival hyperemia), a change in the color of the iris to an unusual greenish or rusty … The iris pattern becomes blurred, the pupil is constricted and reacts poorly to light, vision in the affected eye deteriorates. Intraocular pressure is normal or low, although in chronic and recurrent forms of the disease it can increase, up to the development of glaucoma.

Acute iridocyclitis is characterized by sharp manifestations: severe pain in the eye, headache, lacrimation and photophobia. In a chronic process, the symptoms of iridocyclitis have a milder and sluggish manifestation, the pain is not too pronounced, there is no sharp redness of the conjunctiva. But in this case, atrophic changes are more pronounced: coarse adhesions of the iris and lens, and, as a result, an overgrowth of the pupil, opacity of the vitreous body, etc. Acute iridocyclitis is better amenable to therapy, but in unfavorable conditions it can turn into a chronic and reductive form.

Diagnosis of iridocyclitis

Diagnosis of iridocyclitis is based on the presence of characteristic symptoms, ophthalmological examination data, as well as the results of laboratory tests carried out using high-precision equipment.

The doctor conducts an examination of the eye using a slit lamp (eye biomicroscopy) to determine the nature of the inflammation and differentiate it from inflammatory changes in other diseases. If the resulting picture of iridocyclitis corresponds to one of the toxic-allergic or metastatic forms, an additional examination is carried out by a specialized specialist (endocrinologist, rheumatologist, immunologist, etc.). As a rule, the diagnosis of iridocyclitis is not difficult.

Treatment of iridocyclitis

Treatment of iridocyclitis should be consistent and persistent, despite the fact that it often takes a long time, from a month to six months. The two main directions in which the treatment of iridocyclitis is carried out is, firstly, to relieve inflammation, and secondly, to prevent the formation of adhesions and scarring, since such degenerative processes can lead to complications and blindness.

As anti-inflammatory therapy for nonspecific forms of iridocyclitis, hormonal drugs (hydrocortisone, prednisolone) are often used, both locally and in the form of tablets. With purulent forms, the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics is indicated.

To prevent the formation of adhesions (synechia) and fusion of the iris with the lens, so-called mydriatics are used - drugs that dilate the pupil. Physiotherapy is also widely used for this purpose: electrophoresis with lidase, trypsin and other drugs of lytic action, heating, UV irradiation, magnetotherapy.

Treatment of iridocyclitis caused by endogenous causes, such as diabetes, rheumatism, systemic diseases, tuberculosis and others, must be carried out in conjunction with the treatment of a general disease, since in this case isolated eye therapy will give only a short-term result, and subsequent relapses are likely.

A prerequisite for the successful treatment of iridocyclitis is the elimination of all sources of chroniosepsis in the body. It is necessary to sanitize the oral cavity and cure all chronic diseases, since in addition to the fact that such foci are constant breeding grounds for infection, they suppress the immune system.

Iridocyclitis is more difficult to treat in the cold season, therefore, in this case, it is necessary to observe a special thermal regime - to avoid hypothermia and even just a long stay in the cold.

Iridocyclitis prognosis

The prognosis of iridocyclitis largely depends on its form and the adequacy of the treatment undertaken. As a rule, if it is possible to eliminate the cause of the disease, then iridocyclitis is cured. In the case when iridocyclitis is a symptom of a severe systemic disease, every effort must be made to prevent the occurrence of complications and the spread of inflammation to the rest of the eye tissue. In general, the prognosis of iridocyclitis is favorable, subject to treatment and observation by an ophthalmologist.

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The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!