Risk factors and clinical signs of severe Acanthamoeba keratitis

• Main Authors: Shimmura-Tomita M, Takano H, Kinoshita N, Toyoda F, Tanaka Y, Takagi R, Kobayashi M, Kakehashi A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2018-12-01
• Series: Clinical Ophthalmology
• Subjects: Acanthamoeba keratitis; keratoprecipitates; steroid eye drops; aging
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/risk-factors-and-clinical-signs-of-severe-acanthamoeba-keratitis-peer-reviewed-article-OPTH

Machiko Shimmura-Tomita, Hiroko Takano, Nozomi Kinoshita, Fumihiko Toyoda, Yoshiaki Tanaka, Rina Takagi, Mina Kobayashi, Akihiro Kakehashi Department of Ophthalmology, Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University, Saitama, Japan Purpose: To determine risk factors and clinical signs for severe Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) by comparing severe cases with mild cases with good prognosis.Patients and methods: We reviewed medical records of ten cases of AK (five males and five females) referred to our hospital and classified cases into two groups. One eye that required therapeutic keratoplasty and three eyes with a poor visual acuity (<0.2) on last visit were included in the severe group. Six eyes that had good prognosis with a visual acuity of 1.2 on last visit were classified as mild group. We compared patients’ age, the time required for diagnosis, visual acuity on first visit, the history of steroid eye drops use, and other clinical findings.Results: The average age of the severe group was older than the mild group (P=0.04). The duration between onset and diagnosis of AK and visual acuity on first visit was not statistically different. A history of steroid eye drop use was found in four eyes of the severe group (100%) and four eyes of the mild group (67%). Keratoprecipitates were found in all severe group eyes and one mild group eye during follow-up (P=0.01). One case in the severe group was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at initial examination. We detected Staphylococcus epidermis by palpebral conjunctival culture in one case of the severe group.Conclusion: Aging may be a possible risk factor for severe AK. The presence of keratoprecipitates is a possible sign of severe AK. Attention is also required in patients with comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus and bacterial infection. Keywords: Acanthamoeba keratitis, keratoprecipitates, steroid eye drops, aging, contact lens