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  • Increased incidence of adult gonococcal keratoconjunctivitis at two tertiary eye hospitals in Western Europe: clinical features, complications and antimicrobial susceptibility

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Cornea and ocular surface
Increased incidence of adult gonococcal keratoconjunctivitis at two tertiary eye hospitals in Western Europe: clinical features, complications and antimicrobial susceptibility
  1. Alice L Milligan1,
  2. Anna C Randag2,
  3. Sybren Lekkerkerk3,
  4. Helen Fifer4
  1. 1 Corneal and External Diseases Department and Emergency Department, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  2. 2 Corneal and External Diseases Department, Eye Hospital Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  3. 3 Department of Medical Microbiology, Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  4. 4 Blood Safety, Hepatitis, STI & HIV Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Alice L Milligan, Corneal and External Diseases Department and Emergency Department, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London EC1V 2PD, UK; alice.milligan{at}nhs.net

Abstract

Background Gonorrhoea is on the rise: between 2021 and 2022, a 50% and a 33% increase in diagnoses was seen, respectively, in England and the Netherlands. A concurrent rise in gonococcal keratoconjunctivitis (GKC) is a serious concern due to the potentially devastating visual complications.

Methods This is a retrospective case series of adult GKC from two Western European tertiary ophthalmology centres between 2017 and July 2023. The clinical features, ocular complications and antimicrobial susceptibilities are reported within.

Results An increased incidence was recorded at both centres, with 11 confirmed cases in the first 7 months of 2023, compared with ≤3 per year in 2017–2022.

Conclusion The notable increase of GKC cases in our centres in 2023 may indicate a rise across Western Europe. Enhanced, sustained, national surveillance of GKC is essential to establish incidence and antimicrobial susceptibility, to inform treatment guidelines and guide appropriate public health response.

  • Cornea
  • Infection
  • Public health

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplemental information.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjo-2023-324750

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    Data availability statement

    All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplemental information.

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    Footnotes

    • ALM and ACR contributed equally.

    • Correction notice This paper has been corrected since it was first published. The second author's name has been updated.

    • Contributors ALM and AR conceived the idea for the report and prepared the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the analysis of the data and critical revisions of the manuscript. ALM was responsible for the overall content as the guarantor.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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