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BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Year : 2014  |  Volume : 62  |  Issue : 5  |  Page : 633-635

Keratoconjunctivitis caused by an unusual retained conjunctival foreign body: A frequently unrecognized entity


1 Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Ophthalmology, Joseph Eye Hospital, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India
2 Department of Microbiology, Institute of Ophthalmology, Joseph Eye Hospital, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India

Date of Submission08-Jun-2013
Date of Acceptance22-Mar-2014
Date of Web Publication30-May-2014

Correspondence Address:
Catti Muniswamy Kalavathy
Institute of Ophthalmology, Joseph Eye Hospital, Trichy - 620 001, Tamil Nadu
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/0301-4738.133524

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  Abstract 

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe a case series of keratoconjunctivitis caused by a retained bindi (dot) in six children who presented to a tertiary eye care facility in Southern India. Patients and Methods: Over a period of 11 years (January 2000 and January 2012), six children (all female, ranging in age from 6 months to 3 years) were diagnosed with ocular manifestations subsequent to a retained bindi. Results: All patients presented with redness, photophobia, extensive lacrimation, and blepharospasm. Two patients presented with mucopurulent conjunctivitis, three patients with suppurative keratitis and one patient presented with corneal epithelial defect. After removal of the foreign body the response to topical antibiotics was good in five of six cases, whereas one patient required therapeutic keratoplasty. Conclusions: Young children presenting with unilateral keratitis and conjunctivitis should alert the clinician to the possibility of a retained foreign body in the eye.

Keywords: Bindi, keratitis, keratoconjunctivitis


How to cite this article:
Kalavathy CM, Parmar P, Kaliamurthy J, Jesudasan CN, Thomas PA. Keratoconjunctivitis caused by an unusual retained conjunctival foreign body: A frequently unrecognized entity. Indian J Ophthalmol 2014;62:633-5

How to cite this URL:
Kalavathy CM, Parmar P, Kaliamurthy J, Jesudasan CN, Thomas PA. Keratoconjunctivitis caused by an unusual retained conjunctival foreign body: A frequently unrecognized entity. Indian J Ophthalmol [serial online] 2014 [cited 2024 Mar 29];62:633-5. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/ijo/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?2014/62/5/633/133524

A "bindi" (from the Sanskrit "bindu," meaning "a dot") is a forehead decoration worn by in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Traditionally, it is worn by women and children and consists of a dot of red or any other color applied to the center of the forehead between the eyebrows. Self-adhesive bindis (also known as sticker bindis) are made of felt or thin metal, with an adhesive on the side that is applied to the forehead. This bindi may be accidentally dislodged from the forehead, especially in children, and get lodged in the conjunctival sac, causing keratitis, corneal epithelial defects, and conjunctivitis. Management of such cases is hampered by the inability of children to provide a complete medical history and to cooperate during examination and treatment. Delay in management may cause serious visual impairment.

In this paper, we describe a case series of keratoconjunctivitis caused by a retained bindi in six children who presented to a tertiary eye care facility in southern India. To the best of our knowledge, such a series has hitherto not been reported in the literature.


  Patients and Methods Top


Over a period of 11 years (January 2000 and January 2012), six children (all females, age ranges: 6 months to 3 years) were diagnosed with ocular manifestations subsequent to a retained bindi at the Cornea Clinic, Institute of Ophthalmology, Joseph Eye Hospital, Tiruchirapalli, India. On presentation, a detailed clinical history was elicited followed by ocular examination using slit-lamp biomicroscopy (Zeiss) and an operating microscope. Where corneal ulceration was noted, the ulcer was scraped and processed for microbiological evaluation by a standard method. [1]


  Results Top


The clinical presentation, details of microbiological investigation (where done), and of treatment, and final outcome, are summarized in [Table 1]. In brief: The patients presented 2-30 days after the onset of symptoms, four patients presented within a week while the other two presented later. All patients presented with redness, photophobia, extensive lacrimation, and blepharospasm. Two patients (patients 3 and 5) presented with mucopurulent conjunctivitis, one (patient 1) present with corneal epithelial defect [Figure 1] and three patients (patients 2, 4 and 6) presented with corneal ulceration [patient 4 had a perforated corneal ulcer; [Figure 2].
Table 1: Characteristics of patients with retained bindis

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Figure 1: Bindi retained in upper conjunctival fornix (patient 1)

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Figure 2: Perforated corneal ulcer on presentation (patient 4)

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Examination under the microscope revealed a retained bindi in the upper conjunctival fornix in all six children. In each case, the bindi was removed with a sterile cotton bud/forceps after applying topical anesthetic drops (4% xylocaine).

Microscopic examination of corneal scrapes from two (patients 2 and 6) of the three patients who presented with corneal ulcers revealed only Gram-positive cocci; Staphylococcus epidermidis was recovered in culture in both patients. In patient 4, who presented with a perforated corneal ulcer, microbiological investigations were not done at presentation; however, this child underwent an emergency therapeutic keratoplasty after 24 h, and the excised corneal button was sent for microbiological investigation and grew a Bacillus sp.

In the two patients (patients 3 and 5) who had presented with mucopurulent conjunctivitis; topical ofloxacin (0.3%) therapy was started after removal of the bindi, these patients responded well to therapy. In patient 1, who had presented with an epithelial defect, patching of the eye was performed after removal of the bindi; this child responded well to topical ofloxacin. In patients 2, who had presented with a corneal ulcer, topical ofloxacin hourly and topical cycloplegic thrice daily were initiated after removal of the bindi and the ulcer healed completely, whereas patient 6 required a combination of ofloxacin and tobramycin eye drops. In patient 4, who underwent a therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty, the graft remained clear for 1 month postoperatively but, subsequently, opacification of the graft occurred; the final status could not be determined as the child was lost to follow-up.


  Discussion Top


A toxic keratitis has been reported to be caused by a wide range of solutions foreign to the eye, which include shampoos, lotions, and chlorinated pool water. [2] Eye cosmetics which are used extensively to highlight the eye, are normally applied externally to the ocular surface, can cause precorneal tear film instability and keratitis. [3] These effects are attributed mainly to the preservative constituent of cosmetic product material. A search of the Medline database, using the keywords "keratoconjunctivitis" and "bindi" did not reveal any previous report on this condition.

Foreign bodies are usually removed from the ocular surface by the protective mechanisms of blinking and tearing. However, foreign bodies may sometimes be retained and encapsulated by the mucus, and a local inflammatory response may be initiated. Tarsal foreign bodies, such as insect wing, and conjunctival synthetic fiber causing granuloma have been reported. [4],[5],[6] In our study, the three children (patients 1, 3, and 5) who presented within 5 days of onset of symptoms presented with conjunctivitis or an epithelial defect. When a foreign body becomes embedded over a long period, exotoxins are possibly released by the bacterial flora surrounding the foreign body and this can lead to keratitis. [7],[8 ] Whether a similar mechanism was responsible for the keratitis in our patients (patients 2, 3, and 6) is not clear.

Bindi is made of a synthetic fiber or a plastic patch backed by adhesive glue that contains p-tertiary butyl phenol. De-pigmentation of the skin following contact with this chemical has been reported. [9] The glue applied in the fibers may also have an adverse influence, although this has hitherto not been documented.

In two patients (patients 2 and 6), corneal scraping was done for microscopic examination revealed S. epidermidis. This is similar to the findings reported by other authors. [10]


  Conclusion Top


In this paper, we have reported the occurrence of conjunctivitis, epithelial defect and corneal ulceration subsequent to a retained bindi in the upper conjunctival fornix in six female children. Management of these manifestations is potentially complicated by the patient's inability to cooperate during examination and to explain the sequence of events prior to presentation. Doctors should be aware of the risk of adverse ocular consequences of a retained foreign body in the eye. A child, presenting with unilateral conjunctivitis should alert the clinician to the possibility of a retained foreign body in the eye.

 
  References Top

1.
Kalavathy CM, Parmar P, Kaliamurthy J, Philip VR, Ramalingam MD, Jesudasan CA, et al. Comparison of topical itraconazole 1% with topical natamycin 5% for the treatment of filamentous fungal keratitis. Cornea 2005;24:449-52.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Bartlett JD, Jaanus SD. Clinical Ocular Pharmacology. 5 th ed, Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier, St.Louis, Missouri, USA. 2008. p. 513.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Malik A, Claoué C. Transport and interaction of cosmetic product material within the ocular surface: Beauty and the beastly symptoms of toxic tears. Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2012;35:247-59.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Fogla R, Rao SK, Anand AR, Madhavan HN. Insect wing case: Unusual foreign body. Cornea 2001;20:119-21.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Venkatesh P, Lakshmaiah NC, Chawla R. Insect wing conjunctival granuloma. Cornea 2003;22:489-90.  Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.
Weinberg JC, Eagle RC Jr, Font RL, Streeten BW, Hidayat A, Morris DA. Conjunctival synthetic fiber granuloma. A lesion that resembles conjunctivitis nodosa. Ophthalmology 1984;91:867-72.  Back to cited text no. 6
    
7.
Babu K, Maralihalli RE. Insect wing tarsal foreign body causing conjunctival granuloma and marginal keratitis. Indian J Ophthalmol 2009;57:473-4.  Back to cited text no. 7
[PUBMED]  Medknow Journal  
8.
Farooq MK, Prause JU, Heegaard S. Synthetic fiber from a teddy bear causing keratitis and conjunctival granuloma: Case report. BMC Ophthalmol 2011;11:17.  Back to cited text no. 8
    
9.
Bajaj AK, Saraswat A, Srivastav PK. Chemical leucoderma: Indian scenario, prognosis, and treatment. Indian J Dermatol 2010;55:250-4.  Back to cited text no. 9
[PUBMED]  Medknow Journal  
10.
Singh G, Palanisamy M, Madhavan B, Rajaraman R, Narendran K, Kour A, et al. Multivariate analysis of childhood microbial keratitis in South India. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2006;35:185-9.  Back to cited text no. 10
    


    Figures

  [Figure 1], [Figure 2]
 
 
    Tables

  [Table 1]



 

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