Background: Chronic canaliculitis is often misdiagnosed as conjunctivitis, delaying proper documentation and management. Aggregatibacter aphrophillus has not been implicated in chronic canaliculitis.
Case presentation: We report a case of unilateral chronic epiphora associated with chronic lacrimal canaliculitis resistant to prolonged topical antibiotic treatment in a 65-year-old woman without notable medical history. Canaculotomy, curettage with removal of concretions and tubing with silicone stent for six weeks resolved this chronic infection. Culturing lacrimal secretions and concretions yielded Aggregatibacter aphrophilus in pure culture. Histological analyses showed elongated seed clusters surrounded by neutrophils. Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization confirmed the presence of bacteria in two distinctive concretions.
Conclusion: This first documented case of A. aphrophilus chronic lacrimal canaliculitis illustrates that optimal surgical management of chronic lacrimal canaliculitis allows for both accurate microbiological diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords: Aggregatibacter aphrophillus; Aggregatibacter aphrophilus; Canaculitis; Canaliculitis; Canaliculotomy; Case report; Haemophilus aphrophilus; diagnosis.