What does the above specimen show? Answer The specimen had been stained with Giemsa's stain showing the presence of granular inclusion bodies within the cytoplasm of leukocytes. What is responsible for the above appearance? a Answer The patient suffered from adult inclusion conjunctivitis caused by chlamydia trachomatis (serotypes may be D through to K). Is topical medication the treatment of choice? If not, how would you manage the patient? a Answer Adult inclusion conjunctivitis is often sexually transmitted and therefore topical ocular treatment may not address the whole problem. The patient should be referred to the genito-urinary physician for further investigation. A short course of oral erythromycin or tetracycline is usually effective in eradicating the disease. However, in pregnant woman, tetracycline should be avoided due to risk to the development of the foetal skeletal system. (In ophthalmia neonatorum caused by chlamydia, systemic antibiotic is also the treatment of choice as the organism can cause pneumonitis.)
