title: Bilateral acanthamoeba keratitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence and characteristics of binocular involvement among patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Risk factors and outcomes of bilateral infection were explored among consecutive cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis diagnosed at a single institution from 1997 through mid 2007.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty eyes were confirmed to have Acanthamoeba keratitis by microbiologic or histopathologic testing; two-thirds occurred during a regional outbreak beginning in 2004. Five (11%) of 45 patients had infection of both eyes, including three with concurrent involvement and two with successive disease of the contralateral cornea. Three binocularly infected patients used soft contact lenses, and two wore rigid gas-permeable lenses. Nine of 10 eyes achieved visual acuity of 20/30 or better after antiamebic therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bilateral Acanthamoeba keratitis is an infectious complication of contact lens wear. With laboratory confirmation, vision often can be restored with medical therapy.
authors.affiliation: Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, 6565 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA. kirkw@bcm.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Kirk R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Wilhelmus
authors.forename: Dan B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Alice Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Matoba
authors.forename: M Bowes
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hamill
authors.forename: Stephen C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pflugfelder
authors.forename: Mitchell P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Weikert
mesh_terms: D015823:Acanthamoeba Keratitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001550:Benzamidines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D003261:Contact Lenses; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015348:Vision, Binocular; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D001550:Benzamidines; C018961:hexamidine; C046651:propamidine isethionate