Acanthamoeba detection in the anterior chamber
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Switzerland
- Correspondence to: E Baglivo MD Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Clinique d’Ophtalmologie, Rue Alcide Jentzer 22, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland; edoardo.baglivo{at}hcuge.ch
- Accepted 2 January 2006
Among the spectrum of infectious keratites, acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) represents one of the most difficult entities to diagnose and to treat properly, thus threatening the visual function. It affects immunocompetent patients and the main risk factors for the development of AK are the use of contact lenses, the exposure to contaminated water or contact lens solution, and corneal trauma.1 Clinically, this infection may appear as corneal stromal infiltrates, recurrent epithelial erosions, disciform keratitis, and keratoneuritis. An anterior uveitis and/or a hypopyon may be present too. The diagnosis is usually made by scraping and culturing the corneal tissue and by performing a corneal biopsy if the epithelium is intact.
We report the case of a patient with an AK diagnosed by culturing the hypopyon. We would like to emphasise the value of this procedure in making the diagnosis in patient suffering from AK.
Case report
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