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Published on: August 11, 2012
Follicular conjunctivitis in adults due to Chlamydia trachomatis: a descriptive case series in a tertiary hospital
Jesús E Guevara Osorio1, Teresa Nebreda Mayoral1, Milagros Cuervo Abarquero1
1Servicio de Microbiología e Inmunología, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain.
Introduction:
Follicular conjunctivitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis is an uncommon infection and represents an extragenital manifestation of sexual transmission, and it may be underdiagnosed.
Objective:
To confirm the presence of C. trachomatis in adults with follicular conjunctivitis and to describe its clinical and epidemiological characteristics.
Methods:
Retrospective descriptive study (2024-2025) in patients ≥18 years old with suspected follicular conjunctivitis caused by C. trachomatis. Detection was carried out using real-time PCR (FluoroType® STI VER 1.0, Hain Lifescience).
Results:
A total of 9,430 NAATs were performed on genital samples in adult patients; 414 tested positive for C. trachomatis. Of these patients with confirmed genital infection, 19 presented clinical suspicion of follicular conjunctivitis and underwent NAAT on conjunctival exudate, confirming the presence of C. trachomatis. The mean age (SD) was 30.1 (10.2) years; among the positives with follicular conjunctivitis, 53.3% were men. All showed clinical resistance to common antibiotic eye drops and improved after systemic treatment.
Conclusions:
Although infections by C. trachomatis have increased, their presentation as follicular conjunctivitis continues to be rare in Spain.
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