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Endophthalmitis

Checked: 23-08-2020 by Vicky Ryan Next Review: 23-08-2021

Overview

Endophthalmitis is normally a post-operative infection which occurs within the first 2 weeks of surgery. It is an infection inside the eyeball which can rapidly cause blindness. Very seldom, this can occur from endogenous spread of infection in septic patients or ones with deep-tissue infections.

Typically:

  • Recent surgery
  • Significant pain/headache
  • The eye is red
  • The vision is markedly reduced
  • There is a hypopyon visible in the eye (a layer of pus collecting behind the cornea).

Please see diagnostic photographs

Who to refer

This requires urgent referral to the on-call ophthalmologist.

Red Flags

Any of the following should prompt referral to the BEH Emergency Department

  • Red Eye
  • Severe Pain
  • Reduced Vision
  • Significant Light Sensitivity
  • Recent intraocular Surgery

Before referral

Analgesia can be given, however there is no immediate treatment which can be given in primary care.

Referral

Refer urgently to BEH on-call opthalmologist.

Resources

These guidelines have been written by Rhys Harrison, consultant ophthalmologist at Bristol Eye Hospital, with thanks to the patients who have kindly given consent to use their photos.

For full ophthalmology guidelines see: Primary Care Ophthalmology Guidance Document



Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

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