Late-stage inclusion body conjunctivitis: trachoma?
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital St Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland
- Correspondence to: Dr M Zinkernagel Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital St Gallen, 9007 St Gallen, Switzerland; martin.zinkernagel{at}kssg.ch
- Accepted 6 August 2006
Chlamydia trachomatis is the most commonly found infectious agent in chronic conjunctivitis. Diagnosis is often delayed due to the oligosymptomatic course of the disease and the difficulty of obtaining enough infected cells in the conjunctival swab to confirm the diagnosis. These difficulties often lead to a prolonged course of the infection and possibly to scarring when infection occurs owing to chronic inflammation. We report on a 30-year-old Swiss patient having trachomatous entropium with trichiasis of the upper eyelid requiring corrective surgery, but with no history of travelling to trachoma endemic areas.
Case report
A 34-year-old patient was seen in consultation for trichiasis involving both upper eyelids causing keratopathy. According to the patient, the development of entropion was preceded by a 1-year episode of recurrent conjunctivitis. Except for hay fever there was no other relevant ophthalmic or medical history, especially no history of possible infection elsewhere. On eversion of the eyelid, there were cicatricial changes and inflammation …
