Clinical characteristics of ocular toxocariasis in adults in north China

Abstract

AIM: To investigate the clinical features of adult patients with ocular toxocariasis (OT) in north China and to diagnose adults OT patients in early stage. METHODS: Clinical data of 24 adults with OT were retrospectively analyzed. Slit lamp photographs and fundus photographs and other imaging examinations of all the patients were reviewed. A questionnaire concerning the pet ownership and place of residence was completed to investigate the possible infection origin. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed on the demographic data, clinical features, funduscopic findings and ELISA results. RESULTS: Among the 24 patients diagnosed with OT by Toxocara IgG antibody in intraocular fluid, 16 (66.7%) eyes were right eye. The onset age of 12 eyes (50.0%) was between 30 and 40 years old, and 21 (87.5%) eyes were of peripheral granuloma type. The most common sign was vitreous opacity. Granulomas were detected in all the eyes, and 20 (83.3%) patients resided in rural area. In 4 patients, the concentration of anti-Toxocara antibody both in anterior humor and in vitreous humor were detected, and the results showed the concentration in vitreous humor was much higher than aqueous humor. CONCLUSION: Our study analyzes the clinical manifestation of OT in adults, which may have been under-recognized before. Eye side, residence, and detection of granuloma may help us in diagnosis of OT in patients with monocular vitreous opacity. For adult patients with presumed OT, negative results of anti-Toxocara antibody in anterior humor cannot rule out the possibility of OT, further detection of vitreous humor is suggested for final diagnosis.

Treatment of uveitis and scleritis patients in Malaysia

“…It is noteworthy that contrary to other published studies, aetiologies such as Birdshot chorioretinopathy, onchocerciasis, toxocariasis, Lyme disease, and presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (POHS) were not seen in our population. It is well-known that the aetiology for uveitis varied depending upon epidemiology, geographical, climate variation, and disease dissemination, hence some diseases are not frequently encountered in our part of the world [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] . Herpetic iridocyclitis was the commonest infectious aetiology in our study, similar to Singapore [30] , Thailand [29] , Taiwan China [7] , Japan [32] , and Italy [18] .…”

“…Early diagnosis and timely treatment of uveitis and scleritis are imperative to reduce the risk of visual impairment [8,13] . Epidemiology of ocular inflammation is considerably diverse worldwide and various factors influence it which include host, environmental, genetic, ethnic, socioeconomic, and demographic factors [1][2]6,8,[10][11][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] . A better understanding of the demographic and causes of uveitis and scleritis in various geographic areas will prevent unnecessary laboratory testing, and the delay in commencing treatment [4] .…”

One health approach to toxocariasis in Brazilian indigenous populations, their dogs, and soil contamination

“…Visceral toxocariasis (or visceral larva migrans) may induce mainly hepatic (9,10) pulmonary disorders (11,12), while ocular form may cause visual impairment and blindness (13)(14)(15)(16). Neurological form (neurotoxocariasis) may cause disturbances in the central nervous system, including cerebral vasculitis, meningitis, meningoencephalitis, seizures, and cognitive impairment (5,17,18).…”