title: Episcleritis and scleritis.
abstract: This article will briefly discuss episcleritis and scleritis as clinical entities. Both are forms of ocular inflammation but have different clinical, therapeutic and prognostic implications. Episcleritis is a self-limited disease, causing mild discomfort and infrequently requiring therapeutic intervention. Scleritis is a painful, inflammatory process, commonly associated with systemic disorders and requires systemic anti-inflammatory therapy. It is important to be able to distinguish between the two clinical conditions, as prompt initiation of therapy for scleritis can be sight saving.
authors.affiliation: Professional Eye Centre, Mackay Queensland, Australia. Bradkirkwood@bigpond.com
authors.forename: Bradley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kirkwood
authors.forename: Rodney A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kirkwood
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D015423:Scleritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology