ABSTRACT
Purpose: To use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Goldmann-Witmer coefficient (GWC) calculation to diagnose infectious uveitis.
Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study.
Results: Twenty-seven of 106 patients had positive PCR and/or GWC results on aqueous humor (AH) sampling and 15 of 27 (55.6%) were HIV-positive. Patients with non-anterior uveitis (NAU) were more likely to be HIV+ (p = 0.005). More than 1 possible pathogen was identified in 9 of 27 patients of whom 7 were HIV+. The final clinical diagnosis was discordant with AH findings in 9 of 27 cases. A positive EBV PCR result was associated with a discordant diagnosis (p = 0.001). All cases of herpetic anterior uveitis (42.9% HIV+) tested PCR-/GWC+ while all cases of herpetic NAU tested PCR+/GWC- (83.3% HIV+). All rubella virus cases were PCR+/GWC+.
Conclusion: PCR is useful to diagnose herpetic NAU in HIV+ patients while GWC is useful to diagnose herpetic anterior uveitis.
Declaration of Interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.