SPONTANEOUS HYPHEMA ASSOCIATED WITH ANTERIOR UVEITIS

Few reports have described hyphaema in association with anterior uveit is. Five cases of anterior chamber haemorrhage are reported in patient s with five different anterior uveitic entities: Reiter's syndrome, ju venile chronic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, idiopathic anterior uveitis, and herpes simplex. Hyphaema has been reported in association with idiopathic non-granulomatous anterior uveitis, but not with the other four entities. In three cases, iris rubeosis was present. In two cases the patients were taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents . The hyphaemas occurred at times of heightened inflammation and resol ved spontaneously without complication in all but one case, a boy with idiopathic uveitis who required surgery to remove the blood. The clin ical outcome of these cases provides evidence that conservative medica l management is usually sufficient.