The common cause of missed anterior uveitis

Bisant A. Labib, OD, FAAO, DipAAO, gives her insights on the causes and management of anterior uveitis during Island Eyes 2026.

Transcript

Bisant A. Labib, OD, FAAO, DipAAO:

In just as little as 10, 15, years ago, anterior uveitis was thought to be mostly idiopathic. That is no longer the case, because with a lot more research and with a much more targeted approach and examination, we're now able to see that there are underlying causes to most anterior uveitis. And so I really challenge the eye care practitioner to use the eye as information that you're privy to that other specialists wouldn't be privy to, and make sure that you use it and all those clinical features to target your workup and come up with an underlying cause. Most often, it's likely ankylosing spondylitis or some rheumatologic disease that is seronegative, or an HLAB 27. There are other unique features that can indicate maybe a viral origin, but again, our eye is going to be our biggest help in determining what that is.

Where we sit is like a very, very unique position in that we can tell a lot about the features of uveitis, whether it has an IOP spike or whether there are other features on the cornea or the conjunctiva that elucidate a diagnosis that even traditional lab work may miss or may not Be clear on. So the most important thing is the ocular exam, and then using that to kind of frame the bigger picture with supporting elements like a review of systems and then lab work or imaging as needed. You.