Inflammatory glaucoma

Glaucoma is seen in about 20% of the patients with uveitis. Anterior uveitis may be acute, subacute, or chronic. The mechanisms by which iridocyclitis leads to obstruction of aqueous outflow include acute, usually reversible forms (e.g., accumulation of inflammatory elements in the intertrabecular spaces, edema of the trabecular lamellae, or angle closure due to ciliary body swelling) and chronic forms (e.g., scar formation or membrane overgrowth in the anterior chamber angle). Careful history and follow-up helps distinguish steroid-induced glaucoma from uveitic glaucoma. Treatment of combined iridocyclitis and glaucoma involves steroidal and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents and antiglaucoma drugs. However, glaucoma drugs can often have an unpredictable effect on intraocular pressure (IOP) in the setting of uveitis. Surgical intervention is required in case of medical failure. METHOD OF LITERATURE SEARCH: Literature on the Medline database was searched using the PubMed interface.