Page 1213 - Equine Clinical Medicine, Surgery and Reproduction, 2nd Edition

1188 CHAPTER 11

VetBooks.ir 11.100 11.101

11.102 11.103

Figs. 11.100–11.103 Uveitis can present acutely, in which case the anterior chamber may contain fibrin
(as seen in this horse), inflammatory cells or blood (11.100). With recurrent bouts of inflammation, sequelae
include yellow staining in the vitreous due to protein accumulation, and posterior synechiae (11.101). Cataract
and atrophy of the corpora nigra are common sequelae of uveitis (11.102). ‘Butterfly lesions’ are associated
with chorioretinal scarring around the peripapillary retinal vasculature (11.103). (Figs. 11.100 and 11.102
courtesy I Jurk)

Differential diagnosis agglutination test, vitreal leptospiral titres and aque-
Other causes of red eye or cloudy eye should be con- ous humour and/or vitreal leptospiral PCR may all be
sidered, including glaucoma, lens luxation, keratitis used in an attempt to determine the underlying cause
and conjunctivitis. of the uveitis.

Diagnosis Management
A definitive diagnosis of the cause of uveitis is often The underlying cause should be treated if one
elusive. A complete blood count, biochemistry panel is identified. Regardless of the aetiology, uveitis
including inflammatory markers, urinalysis, fae- requires aggressive treatment to reduce or con-
cal float, urine, faecal and vitreal cultures, serum trol ocular inflammation in order to decrease
Brucella, thoracic radiographs or ultrasonography (e.g. pain, minimise the progression of ocular lesions,
uveitis secondary to Rhodococcus pneumonia), lepto- decrease the incidence of post-inflammatory
spirosis and toxoplasmosis titres, joint taps, conjunc- sequelae and preserve vision. Topical, subconjunc-
tival biopsy for Onchocerca, leptospiral microscopic tival and/or systemic anti-inflammatory therapy is