Ocular Complaints, Disease, and Emergencies in the General Medical Setting

Cynthia A Bradford; Andrew T Melson

doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2021.02.002

Ocular Complaints, Disease, and Emergencies in the General Medical Setting

Med Clin North Am. 2021 May;105(3):409-423. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2021.02.002. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Authors

Cynthia A Bradford¹, Andrew T Melson²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine, Dean A. McGee Eye Institute, 608 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA. Electronic address: Cynthia-bradford@dmei.org.
² Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine, Dean A. McGee Eye Institute, 608 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.

PMID: 33926638
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcna.2021.02.002

Abstract

Primary care physicians see nearly half of all clinical visits, and 2% to 3% of those are for eye complaints. Taking a good ocular history is essential to establishing the diagnosis. Patient complaints fall into several categories including visual change, redness, and pain. Primary care physicians can screen for patients at risk of vision loss from glaucoma, diabetes, and toxic medication and ensure that patients have appropriate eye evaluations. Examination techniques such as direct ophthalmoscopy, evaluation of the red reflex, eversion of the upper lid, checking pupillary response, and using fluorescein to stain the cornea are helpful in evaluating patients' ocular complaints.

Keywords: Double vision; Ocular complaints; Red eye; Vision loss.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Emergencies
Eye Diseases / diagnosis*
Eye Diseases / etiology
Eye Diseases / therapy
Eye Injuries / diagnosis
Eye Injuries / etiology
Eye Injuries / therapy
Humans
Mass Screening
Primary Health Care
Vision Disorders / diagnosis
Vision Disorders / etiology
Vision Disorders / therapy