Herpetic ulcer of the eyelids in an immunocompromised patient.
A 24-year-old black female (HIV-positive) was referred to our clinic with a 4-week history of an ulcerative lesion of the right upper and lower eyelids. She was on treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis and had been admitted to a secondary level hospital. She had no other ocular symptoms or signs. A tissue biopsy of the lesion revealed multinucleate squamous cells with ground glass viral nuclear inclusion bodies, indicative of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. The ulcer healed with oral and topical acyclovir therapy, confirming a herpetic origin. There is only one other reported case of this type of ulcerative eyelid lesion caused by HSV; the patient in this case was also immunocompromised.
Division of Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, Groote Schuur Hospital. ndutoit@mweb.co.za
Nagib
N
Du Toit
Junet
J
Van der Merwe
D000212:Acyclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005141:Eyelid Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D014456:Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D055815:Young Adult
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000212:Acyclovir