Eikenella corrodens caused canaliculitis: a case report and review of the literature

ABSTRACT

Infectious canaliculitis is one of the least common causes of epiphora in elderly. Actinomyces israelii is the most common causative organism encountered in the vast majority of patients who present with persistent purulent conjunctivitis. In rare cases however, other opportunistic organisms may be the etiological agents of infectious canaliculitis. Here we report a case of 80-years-old-man who presented with 1-year history of tearing associated with discharge from his left eye. Examination revealed pouting of mucupurulent discharge from his left lower punctum with patent lacrimal system on irrigation. Culture revealed Eikenella corrodens and the patient was treated with topical antibiotics resulting in full resolution of his symptoms. To the best of our knowledge, there have been only two previous case reports describing canaliculitis caused by Eikenella corrodens. We report this case to emphasize that Eikenella corrodens should be considered in the differential diagnosis of canaliculitis