Herpe zoter ophthalmicu in patient with human immunodeficiency viru infection Original Reearch Article

Purpoe To invetigate the ocular complication of herpe zoter Ophthalmicu in patient with human immunodeficiency viru (HIV) infection. Method: Thi wa a retropective cohort tudy of 48 HIV-infected patient (48 eye) treated at an Francico General Hopital for herpe zoter Ophthalmicu from December 1985 through March 1994. Reult: All patient were initially treated with either intravenou or oral acyclovir. The median CD4 lymphocyte count at diagnoi wa 48 per mm3 (range, 2 to 490 per mm3). Fifteen patient (31%) had mild or no ocular involvement. eventeen patient (35%) had tromal keratiti, motly mild, and two (4)% developed chronic infectiou peudodendritic keratiti. Twenty-four tudy patient (50%) had iriti, but only three (6%) had elevation in intraocular preure. Two patient (4%) developed potherpetic neuralgia, and two other (4%) had zoter-aociated central nervou ytem dieae. Only two patient (4%) developed necrotizing retiniti, both in the form of the progreive outer retinal necroi yndrome. Concluion: Excluding the patient with retiniti and central nervou ytem dieae, the rate of ight-threatening complication in our erie wa lower than expected. Almot one third of tudy patient had no ocular complication or only mild urface epithelial dieae. Although the relatively low incidence of ight-threatening dieae in our tudy population may have been a conequence of aggreive management with acyclovir, chronic infectiou peudodendritic keratiti, retiniti, and central nervou ytem dieae, complication of ophthalmic zoter whoe pathogenei i largely a conequence of active viral replication, were particularly devatating and difficult to manage.