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Viral conjunctivitis - External and Internal Eye
Other Resources UpToDate PubMed

Viral conjunctivitis - External and Internal Eye

Contributors: Brandon D. Ayres MD, Christopher Rapuano MD, Harvey A. Brown MD, Sunir J. Garg MD, Lauren Patty Daskivich MD, MSHS
Other Resources UpToDate PubMed

Synopsis

Viral conjunctivitis is more commonly known as pink eye. Although several different viruses have been known to cause conjunctivitis, by far the most common virus isolated is adenovirus. The most common symptoms of viral conjunctivitis include red eyes with excessive tearing and swelling. Vision in the early stages of adenoviral conjunctivitis is usually unchanged. With more severe viral conjunctivitis, pain and reduced vision can become more prominent. In the most severe cases, patients develop corneal scarring, chronic dry eye, and conjunctival scarring (see cicatrizing conjunctivitis). Patients with viral conjunctivitis usually have a history of sick contacts or an upper respiratory tract infection. Most commonly, symptoms begin unilaterally and then the second eye becomes involved. Patients are highly contagious as long as the eye is infected (on average 7–10 days). Depending on the strain of adenovirus, symptoms can be self-limited or patients can have postinfectious sequelae for months to years following the active infection. Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis has been reported.

Note: Although not a classical viral conjunctivitis, avian influenza A subtype H7 ("poultry flu") can lead to similar symptoms.

Codes

ICD10CM:
B30.9 – Viral conjunctivitis, unspecified

SNOMEDCT:
45261009 – Viral conjunctivitis

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Last Updated:12/27/2018
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Viral conjunctivitis - External and Internal Eye
A medical illustration showing key findings of Viral conjunctivitis : Eye pain, Eye irritation, Preauricular lymphadenopathy, Conjunctival injection, Eye discharge
Clinical image of Viral conjunctivitis - imageId=1917410. Click to open in gallery.  caption: 'Marked conjunctival injection, purulence at the caruncle, and crusting along the eyelid margins.'
Marked conjunctival injection, purulence at the caruncle, and crusting along the eyelid margins.
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