EC Ophthalmology

Introduction: Trachoma has been absent in Europe and Ukraine for a long time. We encountered two clinical cases of trachoma in a teenager and an adult woman in Ukraine, which are of great concern. This report aims to analyze the clinical presentation, diagnostic procedures, and outcomes of trachoma treatment.

Case Presentation: This report describes two trachoma patients: a 12.8-year-old girl and a 46-year-old woman, both experiencing lacrimation, photophobia, and redness in both eyes. In case 1, the onset of the disease occurred in July 2020 after the patient engaged in swimming in a local lake. The patient was diagnosed with a herpes virus infection in both eyes at the regional medical center. Despite antibacterial and antiviral therapy, the patient did not exhibit any signs of improvement. The patient in case 2 had recently traveled to Africa and Southwest Asia. In both patients, laboratory examination of the conjunctival scrapings revealed intracellular Prowazek bodies. Specific antibacterial therapy administered to the patients included instillations of 1.5% azithromycin (a first-line drug with a broad spectrum of action, without preservatives), tetracycline ointment, parabular injections of amikacin, and oral azithromycin.

Conclusion: The occurrence of trachoma should alert the ophthalmologists in Ukraine. The diagnostic "gold standard" for trachoma is the detection of intracellular Prowazek bodies in conjunctival scrapings. For the treatment of trachoma, a novel topical 1.5% azithromycin ocular solution has been developed; in combination with systemic therapy, it was proven to be highly effective in our clinical cases.

 Keywords: Trachoma; Diagnostic; Treatment; Azithromycin; Case Report

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