Corneal ulcer in reactive arthritis

Abstract

A 20-year-old male presented with acute lower limb oligoarthritis and enthesitis followed by acute onset redness, watering, pain and decreased vision in the right eye. He had recent history of diarrhoea with fever. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were raised and human leukocyte antigen-B27 was positive. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the right eye was 20/120 and it showed a paracentral shallow corneal ulcer of size 3 × 4 mm with underlying dense stromal infiltrates and haze. Microbiological evaluation of corneal scrapings was reported as Staphylococcus hominis. The epithelium healed on topical antibiotics in one week, but there were persistent punctate erosions and pleomorphic anterior stromal infiltrates and haze. The residual keratitis healed completely on topical steroids in ten days, with BCVA improving to 20/20. A diagnosis of reactive arthritis with immune-mediated keratitis was made.

Keywords: corneal ulcer; pleomorphic anterior stromal infiltrates; reactive arthritis; superficial punctate keratitis.