[Glaucoma and uveitis. Causes of and treatment options for increased intraocular pressure in cases of inflammatory ophthalmology].

Uveitic secondary glaucoma poses one of the most difficult problems for differential diagnostics and therapeutics in the field of clinical glaucomatology. The prevalence of glaucoma among uveitis patients ranges between 5 and 20% with great fluctuations depending on the underlying disease, duration of the disease, and the patient's age. Based on slit-lamp examination, uveitis can be classified as granulomatous and non-granulomatous. The effects of uveitic glaucoma on the quality of life and central visual acuity are particularly serious during childhood. Surgical reduction of eye pressure in cases of uveitic secondary glaucoma should only be performed if medical treatment of the underlying disease or ocular inflammation does not lower the eye pressure level and if in the presence of glaucomatous damage to the optic nerve the level of intraocular pressure is so high that a drastic decrease in pressure that cannot be achieved by medication becomes necessary.