Correlation of Clinical Outcomes with Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction DNA Copy Number in Patients with Acute Retinal Necrosis

• Published in: Ocular immunology and inflammation 2017-04, Vol.25 (2), p.246-252
• Main Authors: Calvo, Charles M., Khan, Mohammed Ali, Mehta, Sonia, Garg, Sunir J., Dunn, James P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute retinal necrosis; Acyclovir - analogs & derivatives; Acyclovir - therapeutic use; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Aqueous Humor - virology; DNA, Viral - analysis; Eye Infections, Viral - diagnosis; Eye Infections, Viral - drug therapy; Eye Infections, Viral - virology; Female; Gene Dosage; Herpes Simplex - diagnosis; Herpes Simplex - drug therapy; Herpes Simplex - virology; herpes simplex virus; Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus - diagnosis; Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus - drug therapy; Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus - virology; Herpesvirus 3, Human - genetics; Herpesvirus 3, Human - isolation & purification; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; necrotizing retinitis; polymerase chain reaction; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Retinal Necrosis Syndrome, Acute - diagnosis; Retinal Necrosis Syndrome, Acute - drug therapy; Retinal Necrosis Syndrome, Acute - virology; retinitis; Retrospective Studies; Simplexvirus - genetics; Simplexvirus - isolation & purification; Statistics as Topic; Valine - analogs & derivatives; Valine - therapeutic use; Visual Acuity - physiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0927-3948; 1744-5078
• DOI: 10.3109/09273948.2015.1115081

Purpose: To correlate visual acuity outcomes and clinical features with quantitative PCR DNA copy number in patients with acute retinal necrosis (ARN). Methods: Retrospective, consecutive case series. Results: In total, 14 eyes of 13 patients were diagnosed with ARN, based on the American Uveitis Society criteria, and were followed for a mean of 324.5 days (median 250.5 days, SD ± 214 days). Anterior chamber fluid analyzed by quantitative PCR identified viral DNA in 11 of 14 eyes (78.5%). Varicella zoster virus (VZV) was identified in seven eyes (50%) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) in four eyes (28.5%). Mean DNA copy number was 7.9 × 10 6 /mL (median 2.10 × 10 6 /mL, range: 0-5.60 × 10 7 /mL). Eyes with quantitative PCR DNA copy number of ≥5.0 × 10 6 /mL (n = 6 eyes) had worse baseline visual acuity (logMAR 1.48 ± 0.71 vs 0.94 ± 0.76, p = 0.196) and final visual acuity (logMAR 2.10 ± 0.60 vs 0.82 ± 0.81, p = 0.007) compared with patients with a DNA copy number