Case report of interstitial keratitis in pregnancy

To report an unusual case of interstitial keratitis and lipid keratopathy in a pregnant woman with unknown etiology and atypical clinical course.

A 15 weeks pregnant 32-year-old female daily soft contact lens wearer presented with 1 month of right eye redness and intermittent blurry vision. Slit lamp examination revealed sectoral interstitial keratitis with stromal neovascularization and opacification. No underlying ocular or systemic etiology was identified. The corneal changes were unresponsive to treatment with topical steroids and progressed over the ensuing months of her pregnancy. On continued follow up, the cornea demonstrated spontaneous partial regression of the opacification in the post-partum period.

This case illustrates a possible rare manifestation of pregnancy physiology in the cornea. It also emphasizes the utility of close follow-up and conservative management in pregnant patients with idiopathic interstitial keratitis not only to avoid intervention during pregnancy but also because of the possibility of spontaneous improvement or resolution of the corneal changes.