Abstract
Objective
To report the clinical manifestations, response to antiviral treatment, and long-term
visual outcomes of cytomegalovirus endotheliitis in a Canadian population.
Design
Retrospective case series.
Participants
A total of 9 eyes of 7 patients referred to a cornea subspecialty clinic in a major
Canadian centre with corneal endotheliitis.
Methods
A retrospective review of all patients presenting with corneal endotheliitis to 1
corneal surgeon was completed. Patients underwent anterior chamber biopsy with positive
cytomegalovirus polymerase chain reaction. All patients received systemic valganciclovir
for a minimum of 3 months. Primary outcomes included visual acuity, intraocular pressure
control, medication dependence, and corneal status.
Results
The average follow-up was 76.4 ± 11.8 months. Two patients had bilateral disease.
Corneal manifestations included linear, disciform, and circinate patterns of endotheliitis.
Best-corrected visual acuity improved from a mean of 0.48 ± 0.19 logMAR at presentation
to 0.24 ± 0.11 logMAR at last follow-up. Intraocular pressure decreased from a peak
of 35 ± 3.1 mm Hg to 14.2 ± 4.3 mm Hg. Antiglaucoma medications were reduced from
2.6 ± 0.45 to 0.89 ± 0.29 agents. Two eyes required endothelial transplantation. Valganciclovir
therapy was well tolerated by all patients; at the time of last follow-up, all patients
were stable on low-dose valganciclovir at an average dose of 1395 mg per week.
Conclusions
Cytomegalovirus is an uncommon but clinically significant cause of corneal endotheliitis
that must be considered in the differential diagnosis of corneal endotheliitis, even
in the immunocompetent population. Our results support prior findings that this entity
responds robustly to oral valganciclovir and demonstrate for the first time the efficacy
of chronic low-dose antiviral maintenance therapy.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: June 16, 2022
Accepted:
May 23,
2022
Received:
February 23,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Uncorrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Canadian Ophthalmological Society.
