Rare helminthic variants in ophthalmologic practice in the Far East

Abstract

In this work, we carry out a literature review into the current knowledge of the rarest ophthalmic helminthoses, including approaches to their timely diagnosis and effective therapy. In terms of their rarity, ocular forms of helminthoses should be classified into relatively frequent forms, such as toxocarosis, and rarer forms, such as those with the infestation of the visual organ and the development of paragonimiasis and dirofilariosis. The epidemiology of ocular onchocerciasis in the Far East of the Russian Federation is not only exclusively imported, but also has an orphan prevalence. The lack of adequate biomicroscopic visualization of the causative agent of dirofilariasis is the main limiting factor in the management of these patients, which affects both diagnosis and treatment. The masquerade syndrome in the clinical course of paragonimiasis is a factor that prioritizes anamnestic findings, which are most often confined to the consumption of an additional host, most often improperly processed crayfish. Ophthalmologic and cerebral forms require radiologic imaging with detection of characteristic MRI patterns. At the current stage of medicine development, drug therapy is sufficient to resolve the pathologic process in ocular paragonimiasis. Ophthalmologists should carry out a more comprehensive assessment of the somatic status of each patient resistant to primary, often empirical, therapy in order to exclude parasitological causes.