Anterior chamber paracentesis is a safe and valuable diagnostic tool for identifying infectious causes of uveitis, with a pathogen detection rate of about 25% and a low complication rate.
The two-part study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, included a survey of ophthalmologists and a retrospective review of 528 outpatient procedures performed between 2012 and 2023.
The survey found that most providers had fellowship training in cornea or uveitis, and 75% performed AC paracentesis at the slit lamp. In the retrospective analysis, complications occurred in only 5.7% of cases. Diagnostic testing of aqueous fluid yielded positive results for pathogens in 24.2% of samples, most commonly cytomegalovirus.
The use of topical corticosteroids and higher anterior chamber cell counts were also associated with an increased likelihood of detecting viral DNA via PCR.
Reference
Choo CH, Pisitpayat P, Yan D, et al. Practice Patterns, Diagnostic Utility, and Safety of Anterior Chamber Paracentesis. Am J Ophthalmol. 2025lS0002-9394(25)00247-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2025.05.017. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40414591.
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