We report the first case of ocular infestation by Loa loa in Brazil. Loiasis is caused by infestation with Loa loa, a filarial parasite originally found in the rainforests of western and central Africa. It is transmitted by the bite of the fly Chrysops and has been recently described in other places other than Africa, in African immigrants or travellers. Our case is a 33 year-old woman from Cameroon who was living in São Paulo, Brazil, for 5 years. She was asymptomatic until one morning she started feeling "something moving" in the left eye. Under topical anesthesia, on the slit lamp, a moving worm was removed from the subconjunctival space, which later was confirmed to be a male Loa loa adult specimen. Blood tests revealed microfilaraemia of 129 mf/mL. The patient was treated with 400 mg oral albendazole for 3 weeks and 60 mg prednisone. This report illustrates an unusual ocular disease, which is extremely rare outside of Africa, but easily diagnosed and treated. Ophthalmologists should be aware of it, in face of an increasingly globalized world.
RESUMO
Descritores: Diálise renal; Insuficiência renal crônica; Pressão intraocular; Glaucoma
ABSTRACTAim: To evaluate the intraocular pressure and ocular perfusion pressure during a hemodialysis. Methods: Sixty-seven eyes from thirty-five patients were evaluated at the beggining of hemodialysis, 2 hours and 4 hours after initiation. Intraocular pressure was evaluated using a Tonopen. Systolic and diastolic arterial pressures were measured with a manual sphygmomanometer. The ocular perfusion pressure was estimated by measuring the difference between 2/3 of the mean arterial pressure and the intraocular pressure values. Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate the difference between the repeated measurements using the appropriate correction for inter-eye dependency. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in ocular perfusion pressure, in intraocular pressure (p=0.93) and in systolic arterial pressure (p=0.92) at the three time points (p=0.69). But, when analyzing the extreme values, some patients exhibited lower diastolic perfusion pressures at all time points. Conclusion: Our results did not support the view that significant changes in ocular perfusion pressure and intraocular pressure occur during hemodialysis session. However, we observed that some patients exhibited lower diastolic perfusion pressures, which could be a poor prognostic factor for glaucoma patients.
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