ObjectiveTo observe the image characteristics of OCT in patients of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) with cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMVR).MethodsThirty-nine eyes of 26 patients of AIDS with CMVR diagnosed in Department of ophthalmology of Beijing Ditan Hospital Capital Medical University from January 2015 to December 2017 were included in this study. All the patients were males, with the mean age of 33.12±9.87 years. All the patients underwent the OCT examination by Spectralis HRA+OCT. The locations of scanning were macular, optical papilla and posterior pole of retina with retinitis. Typical images were saved and analyzed.ResultsThe OCT pathological changes of CMVR included increase of retinal thickness and reflex of retina, indiscernible retinal layers, irregularity or absent external limiting membrane and/or ellipsoid zone, hyperreflective spots, vitreous cells. Among 39 eyes, there were 6 eyes with strong point-like reflection in the outer layer of retina around the lesion, 31 eyes (79.49%) with strong point-like reflection in the full layer of retina, 25 eyes (64.10%) with lesion involved macular area, 34 eyes (87.17%) with vitreous cells.ConclusionsOCT images of the eyes with AIDS with CMVR were characterized by lesions involving the whole retina. Absent ellipsoid zone or structural changes can be seen in the affected areas and peripheral areas of the lesion.
ObjectiveTo observe and preliminarily explore the relationship between the area of active fundus lesions and aqueous cytomegalovirus (CMV)-DNA in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) with cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMVR).MethodsA retrospective study. From November 2019 to December 2020, the study population consisted of 22 AIDS patients (31 eyes) with active CMVR at the Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University. All the patients were male. The age of the patients was 38.0±8.7 years. In total, 13 patients accepted highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The median duration of treatment was 4 months. There were 9 cases that did not receive HAART. Ultra-wide-angle fundus imaging examination was performed using Optos P200T laser scanning ophthalmoscope. The software was used that comes with the device to measure the area of active lesions. Anterior chamber puncture was performed in all the affected eyes, 100 μl of aqueous humor was extracted, and the CMV-DNA load was quantitatively detected by polymerase chain reaction. At the same time, 19 cases of peripheral blood CD4+T lymphocytes and CMV-DNA load were tested; 17 cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-RNA load were tested. The area of active lesions was used as the independent variable, and the CMV-DNA load of aqueous humor was used as the dependent variable to construct a linear regression function.ResultsAll eyes were active CMVR, with lesions ranging from 1 to 264 optic disc diameters, with a median of 43 optic disc diameters. Among 31 eyes, 30 eyes (96.8%, 30/31) had a median aqueous CMV-DNA load of 1.3×104 copies/ml, and one eye was negative for CMV-DNA in aqueous humor. In 19 patients who underwent peripheral blood CD4+ T lymphocyte detection, the median CD4+T lymphocytes were 18 cells/μl; 4 cases (21.1%, 4/19) were detected with CMV-DNA load. In the 17 patients who underwent HIV-RNA load testing, the median HIV-RNA load was 4.1×104 copies/ml. The results of correlation analysis showed that the amount of CMV-DNA in aqueous humor was significantly correlated with the size of active fundus lesions (r=0.601, P＜0.001), and was correlated with CD4+ T lymphocytes, CMV-DNA load in blood, and HIV-RNA load. There was no significant correlation between the amounts (r=0.125, 0.202, －0.096; P＞0.05). The regression equation was CMV-DNA load in aqueous humor = 3.38 + 0.01 × active lesion area.ConclusionThe amount of CMV-DNA in the aqueous humor is significantly correlated with the area of fundus active lesions, which can reflect the activity of fundus lesions.
ObjectiveTo analyze the sensitivity and specificity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in the detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in the diagnosis of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), using aqueous humor samples. Methods25 AIDS patients (including 21 men and 4 women) were studied. The age of the patients varied from 24 to 59 years, with an average of (39.2±9.3) years. The CD4+ T cell count was from 1 to 523 cells/μl, with a medium of 40 cells/μl. They were infected with human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)for a period from 15 days to 9 years with a median of 10 months. They were divided into three groups according to the fundus and treatment, including untreated cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMVR), treated CMVR and control group. There were 10 patients without anti-CMV treatment and 7 patients treated previously with foscarnet or ganciclovir whose eyes were diagnosed CMVR. Control group has 8 patients who had normal fundus or minor retinopathy excluded from CMVR. Approximately 100 μl of aqueous humor was obtained by anterior-chamber paracentesis and PCR was performed in all cases. ResultsThere were CMV DNA in 9 of 10 eyes with untreated CMVR (90.0% sensitivity). Of 7 specimens from eyes with treated CMVR, 3 were CMV PCR positive (42.9% sensitivity). All 8 samples of the control group were negative for CMV DNA, indicating the clinical specificity of our PCR was greater than 99.9% for CMVR. The anterior chamber paracentesis did not cause any complications in our patients except for a patient with subconjunctival hemorrhage. ConclusionsThe assay had an estimated sensitivity of 90.0% in detecting untreated CMVR and a sensitivity of 42.9% in detecting CMVR that had been treated. The specificity of this assay was greater than 99.9%.