Subconjunctival loa loa in an urban clinic

Abstract

An uncommon filarial infestation in our geographic location is Loiasis. However, we reported a case of microfilariae Loa loa worm in the subconjunctival space. A 69-year-old male, a painter by occupation who lives in Chennai, presented with irritation and watering in his right eye for one month. An adult female Loa loa worm was extracted from the subconjunctival space and was treated with topical and oral steroids under supervision. With the suspicion of clinical manifestation, patients should be questioned about international travel, look for painless swelling in the body that comes and goes, and peripheral smear should not be delayed if there are signs of systemic infestation.