Posters

Assessment of adenoviral activity in patients with the recurrent infiltrative form of adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis

Poster Details

First Author: O.Vasilyeva RUSSIA

Co Author(s):    D. Maychuk   S. Aksenova           

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To assess the frequency of adenoviral DNA occurrence in patients with corneal subepithelial infiltrates, formed after adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis (AVKC).

Setting:

S. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution, Moscow, Russia

Methods:

Eighty-seven eyes of 49 patients with subepithelial corneal infiltrates after AVKC were followed. There were 19 men and 30 women, aged 19 - 65 years. Patients suffered acute period of AVKC more than 3 months prior to the study inclusion (from 3 months to 3 years). The majority of patients (77.5%) had corneal infiltrates recurrence after a 1 month course of anti-inflammatory resolving therapy with corticosteroids. Patients didn't have any treatment except artificial tear eye drops at the time of examination. All patients underwent biomicroscopy and qualitative determination of adenoviral DNA in the conjunctival smear by PCR.

Results:

Biomicroscopy didn't show any active inflammatory process, only 10% of the patients had mild conjunctival injection. Mostly (98.8% of the eye) there were PCR negative results when determining adenovirus in conjunctival smears. Only in 1 patient (1 eye) in a smear adenoviral DNA was detected. This patient had an acute form of AVKC with pseudomembranes formation 3.5 months prior a smear study. In 2 weeks after interferon antiviral therapy course the negative result of repeated examination was obtained.

Conclusions:

Negative results of adenoviral DNA detection in conjunctival smears in patients with recurrent corneal infiltrates can witness not only the absence of adenovirus activity at the stage of chronic process, but also indirectly indicate the prevailing role of local immune processes in the formation of infiltrates. FINANCIAL INTEREST: NONE