Misunderstanding laboratory evaluation

Summary Intraocular inflammations always represent a diagnostic challenge for ophthalmologists. It is often tough to make a precise etiological diagnosis in certain subsets that very often appear atypical. Recently, several advances in the investigations for uveitis have been introduced. Such scientific achievements have significantly helped uveitis specialists in the management of such clinical conditions. Although the approach to laboratory diagnosis of uveitis should be directed by the history, patient's symptoms and signs, and clinical examination, very often the ophthalmologist can be confused if such method is not rigorously followed. The matching of clinical pattern and the tests should be always considered in order to reach the goal of a correct interpretation. This review summarizes various modalities of laboratory investigations and their role in the diagnosis of uveitis, furthermore paying attention to the most common mistakes in their interpretation.