Assessment of red eye

Acute red eye is a common presenting complaint to primary care physicians.[1]Gilani CJ, Yang A, Yonkers M, et al. Differentiating urgent and emergent causes of acute red eye for the emergency physician. West J Emerg Med. 2017 Apr;18(3):509-17. https://www.doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2016.12.31798 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28435504?tool=bestpractice.com A detailed history of the presenting symptoms and previous ophthalmological and medical history can narrow the differential diagnosis and aid in the interpretation of key examination findings. The lack of specialist equipment in the primary care setting, along with a very broad differential diagnosis, can cause difficulty in establishing the correct diagnosis, and in such cases a specialist ophthalmological opinion should be sought.[1]Gilani CJ, Yang A, Yonkers M, et al. Differentiating urgent and emergent causes of acute red eye for the emergency physician. West J Emerg Med. 2017 Apr;18(3):509-17. https://www.doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2016.12.31798 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28435504?tool=bestpractice.com Serious vision-threatening conditions that present as red eye are rare and can occasionally be overshadowed by associated systemic symptoms; in light of this they should always be considered within the differential and excluded on examination.[2]Dayan M, Turner B, McGhee C. Acute angle closure glaucoma masquerading as systemic illness. BMJ. 1996 Aug 17;313(7054):413-5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8761235?tool=bestpractice.com