Mycotic Uveitis-Diagnosis.

Youn, Dong Ho

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 1973;14(2):138-143.
Published online January 1, 2001.

Mycotic Uveitis-Diagnosis.

Dong Ho Youn

Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Seoul National Universlty, Korea.

심포지움 : 포도막염에 (蒲萄膜炎) 관한 최신지견 ; 진균성포도막염 - 진단

Abstract

Fungal infection of the uveal tract are rare and only sporadic cases have appeared in the literature; recently, however, these have become more numerous since antibiotic or steroid therapy undoubtedly encourages the proliferation of concomitant fungal diseases. Diagnosis of mycotic uveitis was summarized; the clinical diagnosis and laboratory diagnosis. A positive diagnosis of a fungus as the cause of an intraocular infammation is justified only when the actual fungus can be identified in the ocular lesions. The laboratory diagnosis of a fungus etiology for uveitis may therefore be discussed under two headings-the methods used for the direct demonstration of a fungus and the immunologic procedures employed to establish a presumptive diagnosis of a infection by an avirulent fungus. If material is not available for histologic examination, culture or animal inoculation, the positive demonstration of a fungus etiology is not possible, and the diagnosis must remain a presumptive one. Such a presumptive diagnosis is made on the combination of the ocular symptomatology, the presence of associated systemic changes believed indicative of a fungus infection, the exclusion of other probable etiologic factors, and the immunologic response of the patient to fungus antigens. Epidemiologic studies of presumed ocular histoplasmosis at Wilmer institude were summarized. Modern journals of mycotic infection of uvea were reviewed.