Aqueous humor polymerase chain reaction in uveitis - utility and safety
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Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: To study the value and safety of aqueous humor polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis for Herpes
simplex, varicella zoster, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and Toxoplasma gondii in patients with uveitis.
Methods: Records of 45 consecutive patients with anterior and posterior uveitis who underwent AC paracentesis
with PCR were reviewed. The main outcome measure was frequency of PCR positivity. Secondary outcomes were
alteration of treatment, safety of paracentesis, and correlation of keratitic precipitates with PCR positivity,
Results: The overall PCR positivity was 48.9 % (22/45). Therapy was changed because of the PCR results in 14/45
patients (37.7 %). One patient experienced a paracentesis related complication (1/45, 2.2 %) without long-term sequelae.
Conclusion: Aqueous PCR altered the diagnosis and treatment in over a third of our patients and was relatively safe.
Aqueous PCR should be considered for uveitis of atypical clinical appearance, recurrent severe uveitis of uncertain
etiology, and therapy refractory cases.
simplex, varicella zoster, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and Toxoplasma gondii in patients with uveitis.
Methods: Records of 45 consecutive patients with anterior and posterior uveitis who underwent AC paracentesis
with PCR were reviewed. The main outcome measure was frequency of PCR positivity. Secondary outcomes were
alteration of treatment, safety of paracentesis, and correlation of keratitic precipitates with PCR positivity,
Results: The overall PCR positivity was 48.9 % (22/45). Therapy was changed because of the PCR results in 14/45
patients (37.7 %). One patient experienced a paracentesis related complication (1/45, 2.2 %) without long-term sequelae.
Conclusion: Aqueous PCR altered the diagnosis and treatment in over a third of our patients and was relatively safe.
Aqueous PCR should be considered for uveitis of atypical clinical appearance, recurrent severe uveitis of uncertain
etiology, and therapy refractory cases.
Date Issued
2016-10-28
Date Acceptance
2016-10-20
Citation
BMC Ophthalmology, 2016, 16
ISSN
1471-2415
Publisher
BioMed Central
Journal / Book Title
BMC Ophthalmology
Volume
16
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s). 2016 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver
(http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver
(http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
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Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ophthalmology
Uveitis
Anterior uveitis
Posterior uveitis
Anterior chamber paracentesis
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
189