FRCOphth Part 2 Written Uveitis

Begin with the anatomical classification and the descriptors that go with it, covering anterior, intermediate, posterior and panuveitis, and the onset, duration and course terms used alongside them. Then the infectious causes, including herpetic anterior uveitis, toxoplasmosis, tuberculosis, syphilis, cytomegalovirus retinitis, the acute retinal necrosis spectrum and endophthalmitis. Then the non-infectious causes, from the HLA-B27 associated spondyloarthropathies and juvenile idiopathic arthritis through sarcoidosis, Behcet disease, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada, sympathetic ophthalmia and the white dot syndromes. Masquerade syndromes deserve their own pass, because intraocular lymphoma is a recognised trap. Finish with the complications that drive management, meaning macular oedema, cataract, secondary glaucoma and band keratopathy, and the treatment ladder from topical and local steroid through systemic immunosuppression to biologic therapy.

A uveitis stem usually gives you laterality, onset, a slit-lamp description and one systemic clue, then asks for the diagnosis, the single most useful investigation or the next treatment step. The investigation questions are the ones that separate candidates. The exam rewards targeted testing driven by the clinical picture and penalises the reflex of ordering a broad panel, so revise investigation as a decision rather than a checklist.

Work questions in the order the classification would be applied. Anatomical location first, then course, then the systemic association, so the sequence becomes habit rather than something you assemble under pressure. Use the referenced explanations to confirm which clue in the stem was actually load-bearing, since uveitis stems typically contain one detail that decides the answer and several that do not. Practise the treatment escalation questions separately, because knowing the ladder is a different skill from recognising the disease.