Retinal Vasculitis: Classification, Diagnosis, and Treatment

This manuscript discusses retinal vasculitis and its classification, diagnosis, and treatment. We first discuss the definition and symptoms of retinal vasculitis followed by its classification as a small-vessel vasculitis compared to large and medium vessel vasculitides. Following this, we describe its role in the diagnosis of uveitis and how further classification of the disease can occur by understanding whether arteries (arteriolitis) and/or veins (phlebitis) are involved as well as whether there is occlusion of those vessels since the differential diagnosis for the cause of the vasculitis depends on these factors. Retinal vasculitis can be associated with infectious or inflammatory causes (and malignancy can serve as a masquerading cause) so we discuss the various labs, imaging, and ancillary tests used to diagnose these etiologies. Lastly, we briefly explain general treatment paradigms for retinal vasculitis.