Recalcitrant fungal tunnel infection treated with intrastromal injection of voriconazole

Abstract

We are reporting a case of recalcitrant fungal tunnel infection treated with intrastromal injection of voriconazole. A 50-year-old woman underwent an uneventful phacoemulsification through a temporal corneal tunnel incision for age-related cataract in her right eye. One month post-surgery, she developed tunnel infection. Microbiological investigations revealed Aspergillus flavus as the offending pathogen. Despite intensive medical treatment, the corneal and anterior chamber infiltrate progressively enlarged. At the end of three and a half weeks, 0.1 ml of 0.05% voriconazole was injected intra-stromally surrounding the central end of the corneal infiltrate. On the subsequent follow-ups, a gradual improvement was noted and slowly it resolved completely. Topical therapy along with a judicious use of intrastromal administration of antifungal drugs may be of immense benefit in such cases prior to embarking on the surgical treatment.