Intraocular toxocara

Of 40 patients with presumed or proven intraocular Toxocara, 17 patients (one with bilateral involvement) presented with peripheral inflammatory masses. Typically, these eyes were quiet, without anterior segment inflammation, and significant changes were located posteriorly, where large retinal or subretinal inflammatory masses of variable activity were observed in association with mild vitreous inflammation and characteristic vitreous bands running from the mass to surrounding retina and often to the optic nerve. These bands were frequently associated with retinal folds. The differential diagnosis of these peripheral lesions includes congenital and developmental anomalies, other forms of uveitis, Coats' disease, trauma, and tumors. It is suggested that in intraocular Toxocara, the site of the infestation is determined by chance, and the differences observed in the clinical forms of this disease are secondary to variations in nematode activity and host response.