Queratitis herpética: correlación clínico-virológica / Herpetic keratitis: clinic-virological correlation

ABSTRACT

Patients and methods: Forty one patients with a clinical diagnosis of herpetic keratitis were studied. Viral isolation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and typification were done in a sample taken by swabbing the ocular lesion. Results: Twenty six patients (31 percent female) had epithelial keratitis, that was mild or moderate in 88 percent of cases and acute in 77 percent of them. In 20 patients (77 percent), viral isolation and PCR were positive (HSV-2 in one case). Fiften patients (67 percent female) had stromal keratitis, 93 percent of cases were moderate or severe and 53 percent were acute. Viral isolation was negative in all cases and in 20 percent PCR was positive. Conclusions: Viral isolation and PCR were equally sensitive in epithelial keratitis, but in stromal keratitis only PCR could detect the virus. Moderate acute dendrite was the predominant clinical manifestation. The higher proportion of women with stromal keratitis supports is possibly autoimmune etiology). HSV-2 is seldomly isolated and possibly associated to vertical transmission