A case of polymicrobial keratitis violating an intact lens capsule.
OBJECTIVE
To report a case of polymicrobial keratitis resistant to topical and intraocular antibiotics with recurrence after penetrating keratoplasty.


METHODS
Case report.


RESULTS
We report a case of polymicrobial keratitis caused by Phialophora verrucosa, Candida tropicalis, and Propionibacterium acnes. Initial treatment included topical vancomycin, tobramycin, amphotericin B, voriconazole, and oral fluconazole, as well as subconjunctival amphotericin B. Penetrating keratoplasty was performed, and the infection seemed to have resolved until 4 weeks after keratoplasty. A second penetrating keratoplasty was performed, followed by 4 weekly intracameral injections of voriconazole. Two weeks after the fourth intracameral injection, the infection manifested as an active anterior-chamber reaction. The patient's eye was subsequently enucleated. Histopathologic evaluation showed penetration of the crystalline lens by fungus at the site of synechiae between the intact lens capsule and iris.


CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of a polymicrobial keratitis caused by a bacterium, yeast, and a fungus. It is the first histopathologic demonstration of fungal penetration of intact lens capsule from infected iris.
Banitt
Michael
M
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Berenbom
Annie
A
Shah
Mehendra
M
Buxton
Douglas
D
Milman
Tatyana
T
D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D041022:Candida tropicalis / Q000502:physiology; D002177:Candidiasis; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D015818:Eye Infections, Bacterial; D015821:Eye Infections, Fungal; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; D006801:Humans; D025301:Hyphae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007634:Keratitis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015948:Keratoplasty, Penetrating; D007903:Lens Capsule, Crystalline / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D010676:Phialophora / Q000502:physiology; D011425:Propionibacterium acnes / Q000502:physiology; D012008:Recurrence
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents