Skip to main content
The British Journal of Ophthalmology logoLink to The British Journal of Ophthalmology
. 1987 Oct;71(10):734–736. doi: 10.1136/bjo.71.10.734

Acanthamoebic keratitis diagnosed by paracentesis and biopsy and treated with propamidine.

K McClellan 1, D J Coster 1
PMCID: PMC1041295  PMID: 3676141

Abstract

A previously healthy 53-year-old man had keratitis of the right eye for six months, unresponsive to topical medical therapy. Acanthamoeba was grown from tissue obtained by corneal biopsy and from aqueous from an anterior chamber tap. The patient was treated with propamidine isethionate 0.1% drops and dibromopropamidine isethionate 0.15% ointment, and after two and a half months the ocular inflammation was continuing to resolve. This case supports a role for the diamidines in the treatment of acanthamoebic keratitis.

Full text

PDF
734

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Casemore D. P. Sensitivity of Hartmannella (Acanthamoeba) to 5-fluorocytosine, hydroxystilbamidine, and other substances. J Clin Pathol. 1970 Nov;23(8):649–652. doi: 10.1136/jcp.23.8.649. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cohen E. J., Buchanan H. W., Laughrea P. A., Adams C. P., Galentine P. G., Visvesvara G. S., Folberg R., Arentsen J. J., Laibson P. R. Diagnosis and management of Acanthamoeba keratitis. Am J Ophthalmol. 1985 Sep 15;100(3):389–395. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(85)90499-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Duma R. J., Finley R. In vitro susceptibility of pathogenic Naegleria and Acanthamoeba speicies to a variety of therapeutic agents. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1976 Aug;10(2):370–376. doi: 10.1128/aac.10.2.370. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hamburg A., De Jonckheere J. F. Amoebic keratitis. Ophthalmologica. 1980;181(2):74–80. doi: 10.1159/000309030. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hirst L. W., Green W. R., Merz W., Kaufmann C., Visvesvara G. S., Jensen A., Howard M. Management of Acanthamoeba keratitis. A case report and review of the literature. Ophthalmology. 1984 Sep;91(9):1105–1111. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(84)34200-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Key S. N., 3rd, Green W. R., Willaert E., Stevens A. R., Key S. N., Jr Keratitis due to Acanthamoeba castellani. A clinicopathologic case report. Arch Ophthalmol. 1980 Mar;98(3):475–479. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1980.01020030471005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Lund O. E., Stefani F. H., Dechant W. Amoebic keratitis: a clinicopathological case report. Br J Ophthalmol. 1978 Jun;62(6):373–375. doi: 10.1136/bjo.62.6.373. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ma P., Willaert E., Juechter K. B., Stevens A. R. A case of keratitis due to Acanthamoeba in New York, New York, and features of 10 cases. J Infect Dis. 1981 May;143(5):662–667. doi: 10.1093/infdis/143.5.662. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Meisler D. M., Rutherford I., Bican F. E., Ludwig I. H., Langston R. H., Hall G. S., Rhinehart E., Visvesvara G. S. Susceptibility of Acanthamoeba to surgical instrument sterilization techniques. Am J Ophthalmol. 1985 Jun 15;99(6):724–725. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)76048-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Moore M. B., McCulley J. P., Luckenbach M., Gelender H., Newton C., McDonald M. B., Visvesvara G. S. Acanthamoeba keratitis associated with soft contact lenses. Am J Ophthalmol. 1985 Sep 15;100(3):396–403. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(85)90500-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nagington J., Richards J. E. Chemotherapeutic compounds and Acanthamoebae from eye infections. J Clin Pathol. 1976 Jul;29(7):648–651. doi: 10.1136/jcp.29.7.648. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Naginton J., Watson P. G., Playfair T. J., McGill J., Jones B. R., Steele A. D. Amoebic infection of the eye. Lancet. 1974 Dec 28;2(7896):1537–1540. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(74)90285-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Roussel T. J., Badenoch P. R., Chandraratnam E., Coster D. J. Acanthamoebic keratitis in a healthy Australian man. Med J Aust. 1985 Dec 9;143(12-13):615–617. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1985.tb119972.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Samples J. R., Binder P. S., Luibel F. J., Font R. L., Visvesvara G. S., Peter C. R. Acanthamoeba keratitis possibly acquired from a hot tub. Arch Ophthalmol. 1984 May;102(5):707–710. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1984.01040030563018. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Wright P., Warhurst D., Jones B. R. Acanthamoeba keratitis successfully treated medically. Br J Ophthalmol. 1985 Oct;69(10):778–782. doi: 10.1136/bjo.69.10.778. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of Ophthalmology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES