Curbside Consults: Top Questions from the PCP on Urgent Eye Complaints in Primary Care

Overview

Enhance your ability to identify and manage potentially fatal or vision-threatening eye conditions in primary care. Learn practical examination techniques to differentiate urgent causes of blurred vision, ptosis, and giant cell arteritis from nonurgent presentations, ensuring timely interventions to protect patients’ sight.

Learning Objectives

• Describe evaluation approaches to blurred vision, including what is urgent and what is not
• Outline the evaluation for life-threatening vs. nonemergent etiologies for ptosis
• Explain the steps to evaluate ocular giant cell arteritis, enabling same-day initiation of high-dose steroids to prevent rapid, permanent vision loss