Human immunodeficiency virus-positive patient with bilateral corneal endothelial deposits

Ocular disorders associated with the human immunodeficiency virus are numerous as are ocular side effects from medications used to treat all of the manifestations of the virus. This report presents a unique case of bilateral, peripheral, and corneal endothelial deposits that may be a result of either the human immunodeficiency virus or the medication rifabutin. Rifabutin was the only medication prescribed that is known to cause endothelial deposits. Rifabutin is part of a multidrug therapy to prevent or treat Mycobacterium avium complex, a common pulmonary disease of immunocompromised individuals.

A 69-year-old man with a 20-year history of being human immunodeficiency virus-positive presented with bilateral, asymptomatic, peripheral, and corneal endothelial deposits of unknown etiology. Literature research suggested that the deposits did not appear like cytomegalovirus retinitis-related deposits but rather a variant of rifabutin-associated deposits.

These rifabutin-associated deposits differed from known rifabutin-associated deposits previously reported in the literature. These deposits have increased in pigmentation and density 5 years after the patient discontinued the drug. This case may represent another variation of rifabutin-associated endothelial deposits. Knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus and all the associated ocular findings (owing to both the condition and its treatment) is important, because the length of time patients are living with human immunodeficiency virus is increasing.