Acanthamoeba keratitis

With the support of the Cornea Section of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG), the German Acanthamoeba register (www.amoeben-keratitis.de) was launched in September 2011. The approval of the Saarland ethics committee was given.

The aim of the registry is to comprehensively record all cases with acanthamoeba keratitis throughout Germany and to collect and evaluate both clinical and diagnostic data (histology, microbiology (culture), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), confocal microscopy). A better understanding of these acanthamoeba infections should be created, possible risk factors recognized and an optimized therapy identified on the basis of the data collected.

The clinical data collection is managed by the German Acanthamoeba Keratitis Register (www.amoeben-keratitis.de), which is maintained at the Saarland University Eye Clinic. In order to recruit as many patients as possible for this relatively rare disease, the acanthamoeba keratitis registry is reported directly to the clinic after a positive diagnosis (histology, confocal microscopy, culture or PCR, etc.) is available.

The data is collected in digitally using a questionnaire.

It is very important to us that all current cases are being registered (prospective = the data should be collected and reported at the initial visit and at each follow-up visit)!

The data obtained from the register will be published in collaboration with all cooperating institutions. We therefore ask you to name a contact person in your clinic on the answer sheet.