Corneal morphological patterns detected by spectral domain optical coherence tomography in patients with infectious keratitis

Abstract

Objective: To distinguish the existence of characteristic corneal morphological patterns, detected by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with infectious keratitis. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional, prospective and observational study in patients with infectious keratitis. OCT, clinical photographs and sample for confirmation of the causative agent by PCR were taken. The images were analyzed for characteristic patterns for each type of causative agent. Results: We included 19 patients with infectious keratitis with available OCT images for observation, analysis and classification. We found patterns that helped us differentiate bacterial versus fungal etiologies based on the hyperreflectivity patterns observed. Conclusions: OCT is a useful test as an aid to differentiate the causative agent of infectious keratitis and to evaluate the involvement of corneal tissue.