Fulminant bilateral Haemophilus influenzae keratitis in a patient with hypovitaminosis A treated with contaminated autologous serum

lminant bilateral Haemophilus influenzae keratitis in a patient with hypovitaminosis A treated with contaminated autologous serum Case report (3689) Total Article Views Authors: Empar Sanz-Marco, Maria J Lopez-Prats, Salvador Garcia-Delpech, et al Published Date January 2011 Volume 2011:5 Pages 71 - 73 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S15847 Empar Sanz-Marco1, Maria J Lopez-Prats1, Salvador Garcia-Delpech1,4, Patricia Udaondo1, Manuel Diaz-Llopis1–3 1Ophthalmology, La Fe University Hospital of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; 2Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; 3Biomedical Research Center for Rare Diseases Network (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain; 4Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain Abstract: We report on a patient with hypovitaminosis A treated with autologous serum (AS) who had bilateral infectious ulcers positive for Haemophilus influenzae. The patient suffered a perforation of his right eye and total healing of his left eye with a residual leukoma. In cases of severe malnutrition, serum levels of vitamins and bacteriostatic and growth factors are reduced, so AS would not only be ineffective but also increase the risk of secondary corneal infection. The prophylactic use of a topical antibiotic would be useful in treatment with AS, especially in patients who do not use and adequately store the eye drops, as in our patient.