2. Personal Information and Presenting Complaint

Traditionally, textbooks of clinical methods have recommended recording the patient’s clinical database along a sequence that begins with personal data and chief complaint, proceeds to the present illness, past, family, personal, and social history, and ends with a review of systems, findings on physical examination, and diagnoses. In recent decades, this format has been the subject of two developments.

A careful and detailed medical history is one of the keys to correct diagnosis in a patient with uveitis. It also provides information that may contribute to the choice of treatment indicated. The history-taking process should follow a structured approach and should include personal general information, chief complaint, past ocular and medical history, family history, review of systemic complaints and miscellaneous details on injury, surgery, migration and specific history on exposure to risk factors. A standard clinical proforma was filled in all cases, which included salient feature in history, visual acuity using Snellens visual acuity chart, clinical findings, laboratory investigations, and the final aetiology. All patients were examined under slit lamp. Details on disease severity, laterality, chronicity, ocular signs and associated systemic conditions were noted. In the present study all the 50 patients (100%) were treated with topical steroids and cycloplegics-mydriatics. Periocular steroid was given in 9 patients (18%) of which one had bilateral chronic anterior uveitis and received injections to both the eyes. Systemic steroids were used in 18 patients (36%), which included 6 patients of phacolytic uveitis, 5 herpetic uveitis patients, 3 patients of TB, 2 idiopathic and one each in leprosy and psoriatic patient. 13 patients (26%) received antiglaucoma therapy.

Work-Relatedness.