`

Sympathetic ophthalmia

Evidence: Antibody

Names

Spared Eye Injury
Exciting Eye
Sympathizing Eye

Description

Sympathetic Ophthalmia (SO) is a rare inflammatory condition that affects both eyes following trauma or surgery to one of the eyes. The immune system is sensitized to proteins from the damaged eye and then attacks those same proteins in the uninjured (or “spared” eye), leading to inflammation of the uninjured eye. Sympathetic ophthalmia is a form of uveitis. The disease can lead to blindness.

Prevalence

US incidence: Unknown, but very rare (less than 100 US cases per year). Incidence ranges from 0.2% to 0.5% following injury and 0.01% following intraocular surgery
[Arevalo 2012]

Typical Age of onset

Begins after injury or surgery to one eye. The time from injury to start of SO ranges from several days to several decades, with the majority of cases occurring within one year of trauma to the eye. [Chu 2013]

Symptoms

  • Pain in injured eye

  • Redness in injured eye

  • Blurred vision

  • Extreme sensitivity to light (photophobia)

  • “Floaters” in visual field

  • Watery eyes

  • Visual impairment

  • Blindness

  • Hearing loss

  • Headache

  • Patchy loss of skin pigmentation (vitiligo)

References

Science Direct
Patient.info
VeryWellHealth
EyeWiki


Profile by: Markayle Schears, cMPH