Neisseria gonorrhoeae keratoconjunctivitis.
Clinical and laboratory findings of 47 patients with ocular infections secondary to Neisseria gonorrhoeae during a 5 1/2-year period were reviewed. In 16 patients (34%), corneal involvement was noted. Six of these patients had a severe ulcerative keratitis resulting in permanent visual loss and five required surgery for a corneal perforation. Patients with corneal involvement were older and presented later in the course of their disease than patients with isolated conjunctival involvement (P less than 0.005). An out-patient regimen of intramuscular antibiotics (either penicillin, cephalosporin, or spectinomycin [Trobicin]) appeared to be effective for infections limited to the conjunctiva in adults. If a topical antibiotic ointment is used in addition to parenteral antimicrobial agents, the authors' laboratory sensitivities suggest that erythromycin may be the drug of choice.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000473:pathology; D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007637:Keratoconjunctivitis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged