Herpes simplex virus genome quantification in two patients who developed herpetic epithelial keratitis during treatment with antiglaucoma medications.
OBJECTIVE
We quantitated herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA in tear film obtained from 2 patients who developed herpetic epithelial keratitis (HEK) during treatment with latanoprost and a beta-blocker.


METHODS
The patient in case 1 is a 77-year-old woman with bilateral open-angle glaucoma who had been treated with latanoprost and timolol for 11 months. She developed HEK in the right eye followed by HEK in the left eye 1 month later. Both eyes healed with administration of acyclovir. Ten months later, HEK recurred in the right eye. The patient in case 2 is a 45-year-old man with bilateral normal tension glaucoma who had been treated with latanoprost for 2 years. After concurrent treatment with nipradilol for 5 months, typical dendritic keratitis developed in the left eye. In both cases, a real-time PCR assay was used to quantify HSV-DNA in the tear film.


RESULTS
In the patient in case 1, 71 copies of the HSV genome were detected in the tear film obtained from the right eye at the time of presentation with HEK. After 1 week of treatment with topical acyclovir ointment, the corneal epithelial defects healed and the number of HSV genome copies present in the tear film fell below the sensitivity limit of the assay. In the patient in case 2, 7.0 x 10 copies of the HSV genome were detected in the tear film from the left eye. After 3 days of topical acyclovir ointment, it healed and the HSV genome in the tear film became undetectable.


CONCLUSIONS
Herpetic keratitis may occur during treatment with latanoprost and beta-blockers. The amount of HSV DNA detected in the tear film paralleled with the activity of the corneal lesion.
Deai
Tatsunori
T
Department of Ophthalmology, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka-Sayama City, Japan. deai@ganka.med.kindai.ac.jp
Fukuda
Masahiko
M
Hibino
Tsuyoshi
T
Higaki
Shiro
S
Hayashi
Kozaburo
K
Shimomura
Yoshikazu
Y
D000212:Acyclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D018628:Gene Dosage; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000188:drug therapy; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D016849:Keratitis, Herpetic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014775:Virus Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D017735:Virus Latency / Q000187:drug effects; D014779:Virus Replication
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D000212:Acyclovir