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Br J Ophthalmol 2006;90:925 doi:10.1136/bjo.2006.093187
  • Letter

Corneal transplant rejection following influenza vaccination

  1. M S Wertheim1,
  2. M Keel2,
  3. S D Cook3,
  4. D M Tole3
  1. 1Bristol Eye Hospital, Lower Maudlin Street, Bristol BS1 2LX, UK
  2. 2Pembroke Road Surgery, 111 Pembroke Road, Bristol BS8 3EU, UK
  3. 3Bristol Eye Hospital, Lower Maudlin Street, Bristol BS1 2LX, UK
  1. Correspondence to: Mr Michael S Wertheim Bristol Eye Hospital, Lower Maudlin Street, Bristol BS1 2LX, UK; drwertie{at}hotmail.com
  • Accepted 9 March 2006

Corneal transplant is the most commonly performed transplant surgery in the United Kingdom. From 1995 to 2005, over 23 000 corneal transplants have been performed in the United Kingdom alone, with 2378 performed from 2004 to 2005.1 This equates to a rate of 40.3 per million population per year in the United Kingdom.1 The reported rates of corneal transplant rejection vary from 8% to 37%.2 We report on three cases (two patients) of corneal transplant rejection following influenza vaccination. General practitioners, ophthalmologists, and their relevant patients should be aware of this small but potentially sight threatening complication. Appropriate patients should be informed and warned of the symptoms of corneal transplant rejection before consenting to having the influenza vaccination. If diagnosed early, corneal transplant rejection is potentially reversible, albeit with endothelial cell loss.

A 67 year old woman presented to the eye department with a 5 day history of a red, uncomfortable left eye associated with blurring of her vision. She had undergone an uncomplicated corneal transplant 8 months before this consultation. …

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