Four worms removed from 41-year-old office worker’s eye

Clinicians have described their treatment of a 41-year-old woman who presented to Peking University Third Hospital in Beijing with a foreign body sensation in her right eye.

Writing in BMC Ophthalmology, the authors shared that an initial slit lamp examination did not reveal a foreign body in the conjunctival sac, although corneal epithelial damage was present.

The patient was prescribed polyethylene glycol and levofloxacin eye drops. However, she returned a month later reporting that despite the medication she was experiencing itching, redness, and a foreign body sensation in her right eye.

The woman owned an American shorthaired cat and experienced seasonal allergies.

A further examination revealed severe congestion and significant papillary hyperplasia of the upper palpebral conjunctiva.

Four white linear worms were observed in the conjunctival sac and were removed with forceps under topical anaesthesia.

Genetic testing of the worms confirmed the parasitic infection to be Thelazia callipaeda.

Further questioning following the discovery of the worms revealed that the patient’s cat had an eye disease. She could not recall recent exposure to flying insects.

The patient was prescribed antibiotic eye drops following surgery. Her symptoms were significantly relieved one week after surgery and there was no reoccurrence of the infection over the following two months.