Isolation of Chlamydia psittaci from a patient with interstitial keratitis and uveitis associated with otological and cardiovascular lesions

Abstract

A case history of a 15-year-old schoolgirl with fluctuating bilateral uveitis, bilateral stromal keratitis with vascularisation, and bilateral deafness associated with tinnitus and balance disturbance is described. Three years from the onset of her clinical signs she died of a sudden cardiac arrest caused by endocarditis associated with valvular and arterial lesions. Chlamydia psittaci was isolated from her conjunctiva. In her blood type-specific antichlamydial antibody at a level of 1/64 against her own isolate was detected. The clinical findings in this patient were suggestive of a Cogan's syndrome. It is highly probable that the chlamydia isolated from the eyes was responsible for her various lesions.