Recurrent T.R.I.C. kerato-conjunctivitis: treatment with tetracycline

Trachoma inclusion conjunctivitis agent infections have a spectrum of clinical presentations which in their more chronic forms are often difficult to recognize. Patients with epithelial erosions of the upper cornea, episodic E.K.C. type subepithelial infiltrates, pannus or micropannus, and with or without lid scarring, merit conjunctival scrapings as an aid to diagnosis. Since the agents which produce these infections have a genital reservoir, as the prevalence of venereal diseases increases, the incidence of this type of keratoconjunctivitis will also increase. If the diagnosis is suspected treatment with systemic tetracycline is effective and relatively safe. Simultaneous treatment of sexual consorts of inclusion conjunctivitis patients and families of trachoma patients should decrease recurrences.