Purpose
To report the first known case of Descemet's Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) graft rejection following COVID19 infection.
Observation
A 60-year-old woman with a history of DMEK for Fuch's dystrophy, presented with redness and vision loss in her operated eye 18 months after surgery. Further clinical history revealed systemic symptoms consistent with COVID19, which had started 3 weeks prior to the onset of ocular symptoms. Examination revealed graft rejection, despite patient compliance with maintenance topical corticosteroid therapy. Serological testing was positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG. The patient responded well to intensive treatment with systemic, periocular and topical corticosteroids, and reversal of graft rejection was achieved. Two months later, there was a recurrence of graft rejection while on maintenance therapy with cyclosporin 2% and topical corticosteroids. The same intensive immunosuppressive treatment protocol was followed, and reversal of graft rejection was again achieved.
Conclusion and Importance
We believe that COVID-19 infection was a causative factor in this patient DMEK rejection. By highlighting this case, we hope to raise awareness amongst ophthalmologists of potential graft complications following COVID19 infection.
We report a case of discordant keratoconus (KC) in a set of monozygotic twins with contrasting environmental risk factors. Twin one had bilateral, asymmetrical KC. He reported significant eye rubbing using his knuckles during his night-shift work as an emergency doctor. His usual sleeping position on the left side corresponded to the most affected eye. Twin two had normal corneas, with no evidence of KC. He reported mild infrequent eye rubbing, daytime work pattern, and a supine sleeping position. This case report highlights the influence of environmental and behavioural factors in the development of KC, in particular eye rubbing, night work, and sleeping position, in two individuals sharing identical genetic inheritance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.