OPHTHALMOLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF SYSTEMIC VASCULITIS

Golovach I.Yu.¹, Yehudina Ye.D.², Bevzenko T. B.

• ¹Feofaniya Clinical Hospital, Kyiv
• ²Clinic of Modern Rheumatology, Kyiv

Summary. Summary. The systemic vasculitis are a heterogenous group of rare disorders with inflammation of blood vessels that leads to loss of perfusion and ischemia with necrosis. Involvement in the pathological process of the eye is a frequent symptom both in the debut of the disease, and in the advanced stage of the disease. In this paper, a review of the literature on the characteristic ophthalmic manifestations of systemic vasculitis is presented. The most characteristic signs of defeat of the envelopes of the eyes, the prevalence of the lesions and individual eye symptoms in various systemic vasculitis are described. The possible ophthalmologic symptoms and lesions that are characteristic of different vasculitis and associated with lesions of different structures of the eye are analyzed. Systemic vasculitis are often related to ophthalmic disorders, which can serve as the first diagnostic manifestation of potentially life-threatening disease. The ophthalmologic examination is often a critical piece in both the diagnoses and confirmation of many systemic vasculitis. Despite the recent technologic advances in ophthalmology, often times a simple slit-lamp or fundus examination is all that is needed to accurately diagnose ophthalmic manifestations of systemic vasculitis. With an increased availability and the use of biologic agents, visual prognosis will improve in patients with severe ocular complications of systemic vasculitis. Collaboration between ophthalmologists and rheumatologists is important in the successful diagnosis and treatment of patients with vasculitis.