[Follicular conjunctivitis due to Chlamydia trachomatis].

During two years (1997-1999) an investigation of possible infections of chlamydial etiology in outpatients with follicular conjunctivitis was carried out, through the use of specific assays. Fifty-seven selected patients with presumptive inclusion conjunctivitis were diagnosed by means of ophthalmoscopic examination and bilateral tarsal-conjunctiva swabbing for microorganisms. The possible presence of Chlamydia trachomatis was tested by immunofluorescence microscopy and isolation in cell culture of McCoy line. Of the 57 conjunctivitis patients screened, 37 (65%) proved to be positive by cell culture (CC) and 27 (47%) by direct immunofluorescence (IFD). A good agreement between the two assays was observed, where the CC was more sensitive than IFD. Of these 37 patients with chlamydial conjunctivitis, 23 (62%) were women, with over one-third of them ranging in age from 45 to 65 years. Their clinical records revealed an evolution period of 1 to 12 months. Eighteen (78%) of these women reported previous genital pathology, while 4 (29%) of the 14 men had a history of urethritis by Chlamydia trachomatis. A high frequency of follicular conjunctivitis by Chlamydia (65%) in the screened patients was observed, without any evidence of urogenital signs and symptoms at the moment of the study.