PubMed ID: 2555761
Author(s): Young TL, Robin JB, Holland GN, Hendricks RL, Paschal JF, Engstrom RE Jr, Sugar J. Herpes simplex keratitis in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Ophthalmology. 1989 Oct;96(10):1476-9. PMID 2555761
Journal: Ophthalmology, Volume 96, Issue 10, Oct 1989
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is associated with a wide spectrum of systemic and ocular infectious diseases. Little information is known about herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) keratoconjunctivitis in association with AIDS. The authors present six cases of recurrent HSV keratitis occurring in AIDS patients. Features of the herpetic keratitis in these patients included unilateral dendritic or geographic epithelial keratopathy; predilection for peripheral versus central corneal involvement; one to three recurrences per patient over a mean observation period of 17 months, with a median dendrite-free interval of 7 months; and a moderately prolonged clinical course with a median healing time of 3 weeks using topical antiviral therapy. Only one of six cases had stromal infiltrative involvement. These cases raise the question of whether the immunologic abnormalities associated with AIDS may affect the clinical characteristics and course of HSV keratitis.