[Invasive orbital aspergillosis: Rare but important differential diagnosis in the case of immunosuppression]. / Invasive Aspergillose der Orbita: Seltene, aber wichtige Differenzialdiagnose bei Immunsuppression.

Invasive aspergillosis originating from the paranasal sinuses is a rare disease that is associated with high mortality rates. We report on a 77-year-old patient with myelodysplastic syndrome and progressive left-sided proptosis persisting for 5 days. Antibiotic therapy and endonasal orbital decompression yielded insufficient improvement. Only upon application of complementary antifungal therapy was remission observed. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are essential in order to prevent life-threatening complications.

[Iris tumor of unknown origin]. / Unklarer Iristumor.

A 51-year-old woman presented with a non-specific tumor of the iris and intraocular inflammation of the left eye. The patient had a history of surgery for metastatic bowel cancer and was on chemotherapy. The lesion was excised and was found to contain fungal spores and hyphae. Microbiological testing identified growth of Candida albicans and the patient was treated with local and systemic voriconazole. After combined vitrectomy with cataract surgery, the patient's condition improved.

Microbiological evaluation of chronic blepharitis among Iranian veterans exposed to mustard gas: a case-controlled study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the microbiological characteristics of eyelid margin flora in chronic blepharitis in mustard gas-exposed individuals and compare the results with those in age- and sex-matched unexposed people. METHODS: In this comparative case series, 289 patients with ocular manifestations of mustard gas exposure (case) were evaluated for signs of chronic blepharitis. Additionally, microbiological evaluation of eyelid margins was conducted in these patients and compared with results of 100 unexposed patients with chronic blepharitis (control). RESULTS: One-hundred fifty (52.0%) of 289 mustard gas casualties had signs of chronic blepharitis. Microbiological evaluation revealed higher isolation rates of Staphylococcus epidermidis (78%) and Staphylococcus aureus (57%) in the case in comparison to control group (P < 0.01). Moreover, S. aureus isolated from the cases exhibited greater resistance to common antibiotics compared with control group. Fungi were isolated more frequent in the case compared with controls (30% vs. 4%, P < 0.01), with Cladosporium and Candida species being most common in the case group. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to mustard gas seems to alter the microbiological flora of the eyelid margin. Staphylococcus spp., including antibiotic-resistant strains, and fungi were more frequently isolated in these patients. The relationship between microbial culture results and the severity of ocular surface manifestations in mustard gas-injured cases warrant further investigation.

Quantitative image sequence analysis of fundus fluorescein angiography.

Interpretation of retinal angiographic studies has heretofore been largely qualitative. The temporal properties associated with fluorescein fluorescence of normal and pathologic fundus features are quantified to potentiate pixel assignment and fundus feature quantitation for clinical studies where precise image metrology is vital. Fluorescein angiography studies were digitized, and temporally sequential images were spatially registered with polynomial warping algorithms, allowing for the construction of a three-dimensional angiogram vector. Temporal profiles through spatially registered, temporally sequential pixels were computed. Fundus feature fluorescence behavior was quantified. Fundus features may be discriminated on the basis of spatio-temporal fluorescein fluorescence properties. Pixel assignment based on spatio-temporal relationships will facilitate fundus feature quantitation.