A Pseudoepidemic of Postoperative Scleritis Due to Misdiagnosis

Abstract

AbstractObjective:To describe a pseudoepidemic of infectious scleritis following eye surgery.Methods:Retrospective cohort study with selected procedural and laboratory investigations.Results:Twenty-one patients with postoperative scleritis were identified during a 2-month outbreak. Neither an infectious etiology nor a causative pre-, intra-, or postoperative exposure was found. The clinical findings, when carefully reviewed, were consistent with poor surgical-wound closure.Conclusions:The art of clinical diagnosis involves the subjective interpretation of clinical history, physical findings, and laboratory results. A repeated error in the interpretation of clinical findings can simulate an outbreak of disease. Clinicians may be reluctant to concede misdiagnosis