1/90. Allergic contact blepharoconjunctivitis due to phenylephrine eye drops. We present two cases of sensitization to phenylephrine hydrochloride with clinical manifestation of blepharoconjunctivitis in the course of an ophthalmologic examination. Patch testing with available commercial preparations containing phenylephrine hydrochloride was positive in both patients. The other eye drops tested during the ophthalmologic examination were negative for both cases. ( info) |
2/90. Hypertrophic discoid lupus erythematosus of the conjunctiva. PURPOSE: To report the ophthalmic manifestations of hypertrophic discoid lupus erythematosus of the conjunctiva. METHOD: Case report and review of biopsy results. RESULTS: A 58-year-old woman with a history of chronic blepharoconjunctivitis presented with an unusual raised conjunctival lesion. Previous biopsy slides were reviewed and interpreted as diagnostic of discoid lupus erythematosus, hypertrophic or verrucous type. Both blepharoconjunctivitis and the raised conjunctival lesion resolved with hydroxychloroquine therapy. CONCLUSIONS: A raised conjunctival mass in the context of refractory blepharoconjunctivitis should elicit suspicion for discoid lupus erythematosus. The hypertrophic variant of this disease can affect the conjunctiva. ( info) |
3/90. Ocular surface neoplasia masquerading as chronic blepharoconjunctivitis. PURPOSE: To present the clinical characteristics and difficulties in the diagnosis of various ocular surface malignancies mimicking features of chronic blepharoconjunctivitis and to summarize the current therapeutic approach and prognosis of patients. methods: Six patients with slowly evolving signs of persistent inflammation underwent a conjunctival biopsy after a prolonged course of medical treatment. The medical records of the patients were reviewed. RESULTS: Histopathologic examination of the biopsy specimens revealed intraepithelial squamous neoplasia (one patient), invasive squamous cell carcinoma (one patient), sebaceous carcinoma (two patients), and conjunctival lymphoma (two patients). CONCLUSION: Although uncommon, ocular surface malignancies may involve the conjunctiva diffusely and present as chronic conjunctivitis. A high index of suspicion and an early histopathologic examination are essential to not delay diagnosis. ( info) |
| An 18-year-old white man with severe staphylococcal blepharokeratoconjunctivitis of several years' duration developed phylctenules intermittently. At age 22 an active corneal phlyctenule caused perforation of the cornea. Seven days after this occurrence, the perforation closed spontaneously but perforated again ten days later. This occurrence may have been caused by an increase in the patient's hypersensitivity to the staphylococcus as a result of concurrent viral infection, or it may have been due to the patient's failure to return for treatment at the scheduled time. The area of perforation appeared to be healed 10 and one half months later. ( info) |
| We report a case of interstitial keratitis and progressive hearing loss in a young female patient with biopsy proven cutaneous sarcoidosis. This rare sequence of ophthalmological and auditory signs in sarcoidosis mimicks Cogan's syndrome. ( info) |
| We report a case of seborrheic blepharitis treated with oral itraconazole during a short period. Direct examination using Parker KOH revealed numerous hyphae and spores of malassezia in the scale. Low-dose itraconazole pulse therapy (200 mg daily, 7 days a month) was quite effective. This is the second case in which we also observed a unique fungal conformation which looked like tinea versicolor. The evidence strongly suggests that malassezia is one of the major causative agents of seborrheic blepharitis. ( info) |
7/90. Erythrodermia to pseudoephedrine in a patient with contact allergy to phenylephrine. BACKGROUND: phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine are sympathomimetic drugs belonging to the phenylamine family. Adverse cutaneous effects associated with these drugs have been reported but, in view of their frequent use, appear to be rare. The very close chemical structures of these drugs could explain potential cross-reactions among them but the results reported in the literature are controversial. CASE REPORT: An 18-year-old woman developed blepharoconjunctivitis after application of phenylephrine and tropicamide eye drops. Four years after this reaction, she took 1 tablet of Narine (pseudoephedrine and loratadine) and 3-4 hours later developed a generalized erythrodermic reaction. Cutaneous biopsy revealed hydropic changes in the basal layer and, in the dermis, moderate edema with slight perivascular lymphocyte and eosinophil infiltrates. patch tests with European standard series, commercial eye drops, tropicamide, phenylephrine, pseudoephedrine and other sympathomimetic agents were applied to the patient's back. After 47 and 96 hours, only the patches with pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine were positive. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that our patient has presented two different reactions with different clinical outcome and histopathology, which are unlikely to be due to cross-reactivity between the drugs involved. We have found no similar coincidences reported int the literature. ( info) |
8/90. Phthiriasis palpebrarum: an unusual blepharoconjunctivitis. Phthiriasis palpebrarum is an unusual cause of blepharoconjunctivitis and may easily be overlooked because of the failure of physicians to recognize phthirus pubis. We report a case of a 30-year-old woman with persistent itching in the left eyelid which was unsuccessfully treated under the diagnosis of allergic blepharoconjunctivitis. Careful ophthalmic examination revealed seven bugs with multiple red pinpoint excretions and numerous small translucent oval eggs (nits) coating the eyelashes. The patient was successfully treated with mechanical removal of all the lice and nits from the eyelashes. The specimen proved histopathologically to be the phthirus pubis infestation. The phthirus pubis infestation is usually associated with poor hygiene in overcrowded or undeveloped country. However, it may become a notable problem because of frequent traveling and commercial activities across the different countries. ( info) |
9/90. Tarsal-conjunctival disease associated with Wegener's granulomatosis. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics of tarsal-conjunctival disease in a cohort of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). DESIGN: Retrospective, case-controlled study. PARTICIPANTS: The medical records of 82 consecutive WG patients who underwent an eye examination between January 1996 and June 2002 at the National Institutes of health were reviewed. methods: Details of the ophthalmic examination, results of medical therapy, and histopathologic analysis results were recorded. Tarsal-conjunctival disease was defined by (1). conjunctival hyperemia and granuloma formation, areas of necrosis, or active fibrovascular changes in the tarsus or conjunctiva, or (2). evidence of inactive fibrovascular scar. The association of tarsal-conjunctival disease with major organ system involvement was assessed using Bayesian methods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The occurrence and clinical characteristics of tarsal-conjunctival disease in a cohort of patients with WG and associations with major organ system involvement. RESULTS: Tarsal-conjunctival disease occurred in 13 of 82 patients (16%) with WG examined over a 6.5-year period. The palpebral surface of the upper lid was involved most commonly, showing conjunctival hyperemia in seven patients, granulomatous lesions in three patients, tarsal-conjunctival necrosis in four patients, active fibrovascular proliferation in six patients, and inactive fibrous scar tissue in seven patients. Histopathologic analysis of eyelid biopsy specimens showed granulomatous inflammation, focal necrosis, and areas of occlusive vasculitis in the tarsus and conjunctiva. In reviewing the patterns of organ involvement in patients with and without tarsal-conjunctival disease, the association of subglottic stenosis and nasolacrimal duct obstruction with tarsal-conjunctival disease showed a high probability of clinical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Tarsal-conjunctival disease, a previously uncommon finding in patients with WG, was characterized by inflammation of the palpebral conjunctiva and tarsus followed by a fibrovascular proliferation and scar formation. Because of the important association of tarsal-conjunctival disease with subglottic stenosis, which can progress and lead to laryngeal obstruction and respiratory failure, patients with tarsal-conjunctival disease should be referred to an otolaryngologist for evaluation. ( info) |
10/90. Ocular involvement in an outbreak of herpes gladiatorum. An epidemic of herpes simplex virus type 1 occurred in 60 of 175 wrestlers (34%) attending a four-week intensive training camp. Five of these 60 patients (8%) developed ocular involvement that included follicular conjunctivitis, blepharitis, and phlyctenular disease. Cultures of the conjunctiva and eyelid vesicles were positive for herpes simplex virus type 1 in four of the five patients with ocular disease. The viral isolates were compared by restriction-endonuclease analysis, which disclosed that three of the four isolates were the same strain. None of the patients had corneal involvement and there has been no evidence of viral recurrence to date. herpes simplex virus type 1 is a health risk for wrestlers, and ocular infections are part of the clinical spectrum. Prompt diagnosis and appropriate management of the outbreak may reduce the severity of the outbreak transmission. ( info) |