Ocular infection and inflammation

Managing the inflamed or infected eye in the emergency setting presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to the emergency physician; the causes and prognoses range from benign, self-limited illness to organ-threatening pathology. A careful history, with attention to comorbid illnesses and time course, is paramount, as is knowledge of the complete ophthalmologic examination. Much of the organ morbidity is ameliorated with prompt therapy in the emergency department and by initiating ophthalmologic consultation. In this article, the authors discuss the diagnosis and treatment of several types of eye infection, including conjunctivitis, episcleritis, keratitis, uveitis, hordeolum and chalazion, dacryocystitis, and cellulitis.