• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Congenital endophthalmitis following maternal shellfish ingestion
  • Contributor: Marshman, Wendy E.; Lyons, Christopher J.
  • imprint: Wiley, 1998
  • Published in: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Ophthalmology
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9071.1998.tb01534.x
  • ISSN: 1440-1606; 0814-9763
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p> <jats:bold>Purpose:</jats:bold> To highlight an unusual organism causing a unilateral endophthalmitis by transplacental spread.</jats:p><jats:p> <jats:bold>Method:</jats:bold> We report a case of <jats:italic>Plesiomonas shigelloides</jats:italic> endophthalmitis, presenting in a newborn, with co‐existing septicaemia and meningitis. There was a significant maternal history of diarrhoea associated with the ingestion of oysters 2 weeks prior to delivery.</jats:p><jats:p> <jats:bold>Result:</jats:bold> The endophthalmitis was treated with parenteral antibiotics and topical mydriatics with complete resolution, although subsequent assessment of the affected eye suggests a poor visual outcome.</jats:p><jats:p> <jats:bold>Conclusion:</jats:bold> Endophthalmitis in the newborn is an unusual clinical finding and usually presents with other manifestations of bacteraemia. <jats:italic>Plesiomonas shigelloides</jats:italic> is fortunately an infrequent cause of neonatal infection, but is associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. We postulate that this neonate acquired <jats:italic>P. shigelloides</jats:italic> via the transplacental route, and suggest that this organism be included in the list of ‘other’ causes of transplacental infection that has been abbreviated to ‘O’ in the acronym TORCH.</jats:p>