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Article
May 1984

Acanthamoeba Keratitis Possibly Acquired From a Hot Tub

Author Affiliations

From the Ophthalmic Research Laboratory (Drs Samples and Binder) and the Department of Pathology (Dr Luibel), Sharp Cabrillo Hospital, and the San Diego County Public Health Laboratory (Dr Peter), San Diego; the Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Dr Font); and the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta (Dr Visvesvara). Dr Samples was a Heed Ophthalmic Fellow at Sharp Cabrillo Hospital, San Diego, and is now with the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.

Arch Ophthalmol. 1984;102(5):707-710. doi:10.1001/archopht.1984.01040030563018
Abstract

• An irritated left eye followed by a geographic epithelial corneal defect developed in a 42-year-old man. Disciform edema developed in the cornea, and the lesion progressed to a ring-shaped abscess. The lesion failed to respond to medical therapy. After two penetrating keratoplasties, histopathologic examination and electron microscopic studies established the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. Subsequent cultures and immunofluorescent studies identified the organism as Acanthamoeba castellani. Following treatment with antibiotics and corneal cryotherapy, there has been no evidence of recurrence. Morphologically and immunologically identical amebae were also cultured from the patient's hot tub and surrounding garden.

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