Intraocular cysticercosis by taenia crassiceps

The authors present a case of intraocular cysticercosis caused by Taenia crassiceps and provide further insight into this unusual infection.

The clinical, laboratory, photographic, and histopathologic records of this observational case report are reviewed, as are previously published cases.

A healthy 14-year-old girl was referred to the retina service for evaluation of a total retinal detachment in her left eye. She described painless visual loss in this eye of 2 months' duration. The patient underwent a diagnostic vitrectomy to recover the organisms for identification. Thirty to forty larval T crassiceps cysticerci were recovered.

The clustered proliferation of 1 to 2 mm cysticerci is a distinguishing feature of intraocular cysticercosis due to T crassiceps. The organism can reside in the subretinal space, and may invade through the retina and proliferate in the vitreous cavity. When in the vitreous cavity, inflammation and proliferative vitreoretinopathy may ensue, leading within a few months to severe vision loss due to retinal detachment. Thus far, cases of intraocular T crassiceps have only been reported in female patients.