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Corneal melting in a chronic alcoholic contact lens wearer
I Reisin1, L H Reisin, E Aviel
1Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Ashkelon, Israel.
Purpose:
We report a case of bilateral keratitis in a 43-year-old alcoholic patient who wore soft daily wear contact lenses.
Methods:
After consecutive negative cultures of corneal and conjunctival scrapings and after observing no improvement following antibiotic therapy, the patient was clinically diagnosed with vitamin A deficiency.
Results:
After 20 days of treatment with vitamin A, the patient's cornea completely healed. Laboratory results confirmed the clinical diagnosis.
Conclusions:
When the ophthalmologist is confronted with corneal melting in a known alcoholic or drug-user, it is imperative to consider the possibility of vitamin A deficiency as a possible cause, especially in the contact lens wearer.