OCULAR VARICELLA

Abstract

The ocular complications of varicella (chickenpox) are rare indeed. This impression is supported by the sparsity of the ophthalmic literature dealing with the disease. Conjunctival vesicles 1 exhibiting phlyctenualr-like pustules 2 have occasionally been reported to invade the cornea. These may develop into ulcer excavations 3 with swollen, reddish brown margins. Minimal edema of the lids 4 is also frequently demonstrable. Corneal complications are more infrequent. A direct corneal lesion is most unusual but may appear relatively late in the course of the disease. Oppenheimer, in 1905, 5 reported a case of a vesicular lesion which developed into a shallow ulcer. Pickard, 6 in 1936, reported a case of interstitial infiltration with associated endothelial changes. Rosenbaum, 7 in 1943, described a similar case in which was exhibited a shallow central corneal ulcer with minor infiltration of Descemet's membrane and the endothelium. Superficial keratitis has been associated with chickenpox. In a