Conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia presenting as corneal ulcer

Abstract

Purpose: To report a case of conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia presenting as corneal ulcer.

Method: Case report of a 28-year-old man who presented with sudden onset of pain, redness, and watering in the right eye. Examination of right cornea revealed deep stromal infiltrate inferonasally. Adjacent to the infiltrate and straddling the inferonasal limbus, a reddish well-defined sessible lesion with prominent blood vessels was seen. After corneal scraping for microbiological evaluation, the patient was treated with frequent instillation of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride 0.3% eyedrops.

Results: Corneal scraping revealed no microorganisms. Infiltrate resolved promptly after excision of the lesion. Histopathologic evaluation of the excised lesion revealed conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia.

Conclusions: This case highlights the fact that conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia at the limbus may present as corneal ulcer. This ulcer could have occurred secondary to a dellen formation and epithelial breakdown predisposing to a corneal ulcer.