Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about scleritis.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash scleritis

or in the ophthalmology section of the second edition of the zero to finals medicine book.

And you can find flashcards and questions to train your knowledge and help you remember the

information for longer at members.0 to finals.com. So let's get straight into it.

Scleritis refers to inflammation of the sclera in the eye.

The sclera is the outer layer of connective tissue surrounding most of the eyeball,

excluding the cornea at the front of the eye.

It forms the visible white part of the eye on inspection.

The most severe type of scleritis is called necrotizing scleritis, which can lead to perforation of the sclera.

Most cases of scleritis are idiopathic with no clear cause

or associated with an underlying systemic inflammatory condition.

Less commonly it can be due to infection, for example pseudomonas or staphlococcus aureus infection.

Scleritis is more common in women.

Let's talk about the associated systemic conditions.

There's an associated systemic inflammatory condition in around 50% of patients presenting with scleritis.

It's particularly associated with rheumatoid arthritis and vasculitis.

The type of vasculitis most associated is granulomatosis with polyangitis.

A tom tip for you, the connective tissue of the sclera is relatively similar to the connective

tissue in joints, so it may be affected in rheumatoid arthritis.

It's worth remembering the difference between the conditions associated with scleritis,

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