Lehrbuch und atlas der augenheilkunde

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Spiroplasma species as a rare cause of congenital cataract and uveitis: a case series

Background!#!To date, only four cases of ocular spiroplasma infection have been reported in the entire ophthalmic literature. We add two more cases to raise awareness of this sight-threatening congenital disease that manifests as cataract with ocular inflammation.!##!Case presentation!#!Both infants were referred for cataracts associated with ocular inflammation. Case 1, a 3-week-old neonate presented with unilateral cataract, ocular inflammation and elevated intraocular pressure. Case 2 was a 3-month-old infant with bilateral cataract and panuveitis. Lensectomies with or without vitrectomy and subsequent analyses of the specimens were performed. Transmission electron microscopy and multiplex polymerase chain reaction or 16 s rRNA gene polymerase chain reaction revealed spiroplasma species.!##!Conclusions!#!Spiroplasma as a very rare cause for congenital cataract might be underdiagnosed. We recommend performing polymerase chain reaction to probe for spiroplasma species in congenital cataracts with an inflammatory component