Comparison of two confocal microscopes for diagnosis of acanthamoeba keratitis

Alsoudi, Amer F; Golen, Jeffrey; Seitzman, Gerami D.; Lietman, Thomas M.; Keenan, Jeremy D.

doi:10.1038/s41433-020-1117-4

Cited by 6 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The test requires proficient imaging expertise and is also not as widely available and may be more expensive than other options. A recent comparison of two of the confocal microscopes that have been used for this analysis, namely the Nidek Confoscan4 (NIDEK technologies, Fremont, CA, USA) and Heidelberg HRT3 Rostock Cornea Module (RCM) (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) have revealed a slight advantage to using the Heidelberg RCM [ 43 ]. This study also identified several additional limitations with this technique.…”

Section: Diagnosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Acanthamoeba Keratitis, Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment

et al. 2021

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Acanthamoeba keratitis is an unusual corneal infection that is recently increasing in frequency and is often contracted by contact lens wearers, someone who experienced recent eye trauma, or someone exposed to contaminated waters. Acanthamoeba survive in air, soil, dust, and water. Therefore, eye trauma and poor contact lens hygiene practices lead to the entrapment of debris and thus infection. Acanthamoeba keratitis results in severe eye pain, inflammation, and defects of the epithelium and stroma that can potentially result in vision loss if not diagnosed early and treated promptly. The disease can be diagnosed using corneal scrape/biopsy, polymerase chain reactions, impression cytology, or in vivo confocal microscopy. Once diagnosed, it is usually treated with an antimicrobial combination therapy of biguanide and aromatic diadine eye drops for several months. Advanced stages of the disease result in vision loss and the need for corneal transplants. Avoiding the risk factors and diagnosing the disease early are the most effective ways to combat Acanthamoeba keratitis.

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Section: Diagnosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Acanthamoeba Keratitis, Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment

et al. 2021

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“…AK has serious blinding consequence if not treated adequately and immediately. Currently, early diagnosis of the AK remains as a challenge and treatment process is tedious 4,27,44 . The process involves the combination of three or more drugs, 37,45,46 and it often lasts for months.…”

Section: Prevention and Treatment Of Akmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, early diagnosis of the AK remains as a challenge and treatment process is tedious. 4,27,44 The process involves the combination of three or more drugs, 37,45,46 and it often lasts for months. In some cases, the treatment must be prolonged for over a year.…”

Section: Prevention and Treatment Of Akmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applications of medicinal chemistry for drug discovery against Acanthamoeba infections

Ahmed

Anwar

Ong

et al. 2021

Medicinal Research Reviews

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Acanthamoeba is a genus of free‐living amoebae, pervasively found in the environment. Most of its pathogenic species are the causative agent of sight‐threatening Acanthamoeba keratitis and fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Despite the advancements in the field of chemotherapy, treating Acanthamoeba infections is still challenging due to incomplete knowledge of the complicated pathophysiology. In case of infection, the treatment regimen for the patients is often ineffective due to delayed diagnosis, poor specificity, and side‐effects. Besides the resistance of Acanthamoeba cysts to most of the drugs, the recurrence of infection further complicates the recovery. Thus, it is necessary to develop an effective treatment which can eradicate these rare, but serious infections. Based on various computational and in vitro studies, it has been established that the synthetic scaffolds such as heterocyclic compounds may act as potential drug leads for the development of antiamoebic drugs. In this review, we report different classes of synthetic compounds especially heterocyclic compounds which have shown promising results against Acanthamoeba. Moreover, the antiamoebic activities of synthetic compounds with their possible mode of actions against Acanthamoeba, have been summarized and discussed in this review.

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“…A thorough and methodical approach must be followed when performing IVCM to minimize the chances of overlooking pathologies remote to the area of the cornea examined. Examiner experience and skill level are also critical for both the performance and the interpretation of IVCM in clinical medicine 8 . Several studies have demonstrated that the diagnostic accuracy of IVCM is directly dependent on the confocal microscopist's experience level, particularly for correctly diagnosing microbial keratitis and distinguishing host cells from pathogenic microorganisms 9–11 .…”

Section: Basic Principles Of In Vivo Confocal Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examiner experience and skill level are also critical for both the performance and the interpretation of IVCM in clinical medicine. 8 Several studies have demonstrated that the diagnostic accuracy of IVCM is directly dependent on the confocal microscopist's experience level, particularly for correctly diagnosing microbial keratitis and distinguishing host cells from pathogenic microorganisms. [9][10][11] Taxonomic identification and antimicrobial susceptibility information are also not provided by IVCM.…”

Section: Vivo Confocal Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Applications of in vivo confocal microscopy in the management of infectious keratitis in veterinary ophthalmology

Ledbetter

2021

Veterinary Ophthalmology

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In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) is a relatively new ocular imaging technique that permits morphological and quantitative assessment of the living cornea on the cellular level. The applications for IVCM in clinical ophthalmology are numerous and diverse. There are several advantages inherent to IVCM over standard diagnostic techniques currently used to confirm a diagnosis of infectious keratitis in veterinary ophthalmology. With IVCM, images can be viewed in real-time providing immediate diagnostic information. Traumatic corneal sampling techniques are avoided, and the procedure can be repeated as frequently as is clinically indicated without risk of corneal tissue damage. Both superficial and deep corneal lesions can be evaluated by IVCM in an atraumatic fashion.Microorganism viability is not required for their detection and specialized diagnostic laboratory assay procedures are not necessary. Many larger infectious agents can be directly identified within corneal lesions by IVCM, including fungi and parasites such as Acanthamoeba spp. In other situations, such as bacterial infectious crystalline keratopathy, the biological systems associated with the microorganism can be detected within the cornea. The current resolution of IVCM is inadequate to directly visualize some corneal infectious agents, such as herpesviruses, but host responses and virus-infected epithelial cells can be identified. This review summarizes the current knowledge and applications of IVCM in the management of infectious keratitis in veterinary ophthalmology, including its use in animals with bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral keratitis.

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Comparison of two confocal microscopes for diagnosis of acanthamoeba keratitis

Cited by 6 publications

References 5 publications

Acanthamoeba Keratitis, Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment

Acanthamoeba Keratitis, Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment

Applications of medicinal chemistry for drug discovery against Acanthamoeba infections

Applications of in vivo confocal microscopy in the management of infectious keratitis in veterinary ophthalmology

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