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Inflammation and Keratitis

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In Vivo Confocal Microscopy in Eye Disease

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Abstract

Host inflammatory cellular response of the cornea occurs in response to an injury or infection. In infective keratitis, the type of inflammatory cellular response and the changes in the host cornea tissue depends on the type of pathogen, the severity of the inflammatory response and the duration of the infective process. IVCM allows direct visualization of the tissue at a cellular level and enables characterization of the cellular response at different layers of the cornea, which can be specific depending on the type of infection. In addition, pathogens such as Acanthamoeba and fungus can be seen on IVCM and they produce specific immune response that aids the clinician in diagnosing and treating the disease process. Despite its usefulness in diagnosing keratitis, there are limitations with current IVCM technology including the difficulty sometimes in differentiating host cells from pathogens and the diagnostic accuracy is depending on the observer experience.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of External Disease, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Scott Hau

  2. UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK

    Scott Hau

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Hau, S. (2022). Inflammation and Keratitis. In: In Vivo Confocal Microscopy in Eye Disease. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-7517-9_3

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