CASE REPORT
Challenges in Acanthamoeba keratitis – treatment efficacy of a sight-threatening disease in a severe case without identified risk factors requiring diagnostic verification
1
First Department of Ophthalmology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland
2
Department of Medical Biology,
The Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
3
SPKSO Ophthalmic Hospital, Warsaw, Poland
Corresponding author
Lidia Chomicz
Department of Medical Biology, The Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14/16, 00-575, Warszawa, Poland
Department of Medical Biology, The Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14/16, 00-575, Warszawa, Poland
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2021;28(4):719–723
KEYWORDS
Acanthamoeba keratitisdiagnostic techniques and proceduresconfocal microsycopylight microscopyaxenic culturecombination drug therapy
TOPICS
Biological agents posing occupational risk in agriculture, forestry, food industry and wood industry and diseases caused by these agents (zoonoses, allergic and immunotoxic diseases)Prevention of occupational diseases in agriculture, forestry, food industry and wood industryState of the health of rural communities depending on various factors: social factors, accessibility of medical care, etc.
ABSTRACT
Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), the vision-threatening disease caused by the amphizoic, potentially parasitic amoebae is growing threat for public health in Poland and worldwide. The report presents the case of 70-year-old man with severe keratitis admitted to an Ophthalmology Clinic. Before admission, the patient had been treated for 6 months with antibacterial and antifungal drugs in other units, without improvement in the eye condition. The use of in vivo confocal microscopy and in vitro cultivation allowed diagnosis to be verified and AK successfully treated. Awareness of the threat to public health caused by Acanthamoeba spp is still insufficient. If there is failure in response to first line therapy, AK should be taken into account,despite the lack of identified risk factors. In vitro monitoring of amoebic strain can be helpful for prognosis of the course of the corneal disease. Improvement in duration from first symptoms until proper diagnosis is decisive for better treatment efficacy.
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Improvement of visual identification of the journal - task financed under the agreement No. 618/P-DUN/2019 by the Minister of Science and Higher Education allocated to the activities of disseminating science.
Generation of the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) - task financed under the agreement No. 618/P-DUN/2019 by the Minister of Science and Higher
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