Cornea
August 28, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Clinical and Microbiological Comparison of Acanthamoeba Keratitis According to the Existence of Hypopyon.
Cho YK, Kim DW
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Hypopyon in Acanthamoeba keratitis may signal fungal coinfection and worse visual outcomes, warranting early antifungal plus antiamoebic treatment.
What was studied
Retrospective 15-year analysis of 38 eyes with microbiologically confirmed Acanthamoeba keratitis, comparing 9 with hypopyon and 29 without.
Key findings
- Presenting corneal features and presenting and final visual acuity differed significantly between groups.
- Microbiologic diagnoses differed significantly, with fungal coinfection linked to hypopyon.
- Hypopyon showed a trend toward worse visual prognosis.
Clinical relevance
Corneal clinicians seeing hypopyon in suspected Acanthamoeba keratitis should look for mixed infection, since this is unusual for Acanthamoeba alone.
Who should care
Limitations
Very small retrospective groups (nine hypopyon eyes) and a truncated abstract missing exact figures, limiting precision.
When hypopyon accompanies Acanthamoeba keratitis, culture for fungi and start antifungal along with antiamoebic therapy promptly.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
PURPOSE
To compare the clinical outcomes of patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) according to the existence of hypopyon.
METHODS
A retrospective analysis of microbiologically confirmed AK cases over the past 15 years was conducted. Nine eyes with hypopyon (group 1) and 29 eyes without hypopyon (group 2) were analyzed to study the differences in these 2 groups of AK eyes. The cases were diagnosed using conventional microscopic analysis with staining techniques with smear and cultural methods and were treated according to diagnosis.
RESULTS
There was no difference in the demographic profiles and duration of symptoms before first visit in the 2 groups. The presenting corneal features, presenting best-corrected visual acuity, and final best-corrected visual acuity were significantly different between groups (P = 0.042, P = 0.002, P = 0.001, respectively). There were significant differences between groups in microbiologic diagnosis (P < 0.001): bacteria with Acanthamoeba (0/9 in group 1 vs. 4/29 in group 2), fungus with Acanthamoeba (7/9 in group 1 vs. 0/29 in group 2), and Acanthamoeba only (2/9 in group 1 vs. 25/29 in group 2). The eyes with fungus and AK coinfection showed worse visual prognosis.
CONCLUSIONS
AK with hypopyon can be a representative sign of fungal coinfection, which has a trend of a worse visual prognosis. It should immediately alert clinicians to initiate early antifungals and antiamoebics.
DOI
10.1097/ICO.0000000000004270
PMID
42685305
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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