Molluscum contagiosum of the corneal limbus in an AIDS patient: a clinicopathological case report

Abstract

Background Molluscum contagiosum, a pox virus infection, is likely to occur in the eyelid skin; however, corneal involvements by molluscum lesions are extremely rare. We report a case of molluscum contagiosum arising in the corneal limbus in an untreated AIDS patient, together with anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings and histopathology of the excised tumor. Case presentation A 46-year-old man with AIDS was referred to our department for the management of an ocular lesion. Blood tests revealed an extremely low CD4+ T-cell count of 11 cells/μL, being strongly positive for anti-HIV antibody (591.36 S/CO) with a high copy number of HIV RNA (8070.0 × 100 copy/mL). Slit-lamp examination of his right eye showed a white nodule at the lower limbus. Anterior segment OCT findings of the nodule revealed a highly reflective elevated lesion, which was considered to involve the Bowman layer. The nodular lesion was excised from the limbus including the superficial corneal stroma, and then processed for histologic examination. Histopathology of the excised lesion showed acanthotic corneal epithelium containing swollen cells with eosinophilic inclusions known as molluscum bodies. He was diagnosed with molluscum contagiosum. Conclusions Anterior segment OCT findings provide useful information for morphological evaluations of and preoperative strategies against molluscum contagiosum.

Conjunctival cyst with apocrine hidrocystoma-like features: a case report

“…Conjunctival myxoma shows a high intense epithelial layer and uniform hyporeflective areas [14] . We have shown that ASOCT in a patient with molluscum contagiosum revealed a homogeneous hyper-reflective elevated lesion [15] , the results of which contributed to clinical diagnosis and the managements. Taken together, all characteristic ASOCT findings in various ocular surface tumors are different from those of the apocrine hidrocystomas on the conjunctiva.…”