OBJECTIVES: To test conjunctival swabs from patients with laboratory-confirmed severe forms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). METHODS: Fifty conjunctival swabs were collected from 50 in-patients with laboratory-confirmed severe forms of COVID-19 at the largest teaching hospital and referral center in Brazil (HCFMUSP, São Paulo, SP). The samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 on rRT-PCR with the primers and probes described in the CDC protocol which amplify the region of […]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of intraocular fluid analysis as a diagnostic aid for uveitis. METHODS: Twenty-eight samples (27 patients including 3 HIV-infected patients) with active (n=24) or non-active (n=4) uveitis were submitted to aqueous (AH; n=12) or vitreous humor (VH) analysis (n=16). All samples were analyzed by quantitative PCR for herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Toxoplasma gondii. RESULTS: The positivity of the PCR in AH was 41.7% (5/12), with 50% […]

OBJECTIVE: To report our experience using conventional culture methods (CM) and pediatric blood culture bottles (PBCBs) for vitreous sample culture of acute postoperative endophthalmitis. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital das Clinicas, HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, BR, from January 2010 to December 2015, and it included 54 patients with clinically suspected acute postoperative endophthalmitis. Vitreous samples were obtained by vitreous tap or vitrectomy. Samples from January 2010 to […]