Rare case report

The patient was a 65 year old man who underwent a cataract surgery. Due to a minor detachment in descemet membrane, air bubble was injected in the AC. In POD II the patient referred to the clinic with symptoms of red eye. Upon check-up, a 20% air in AC was reported (Figure 1,2) and extended inflammatory precipitates over the air bubble were detected which resembled those shaped over the endothelium in KP(1). However, there was no KP case reported. Betamethasone hourly was administrated for him. The red eye symptom, the air bubble and the inflammatory precipitates in POD Ⅴ were improved completely, afterwards.

In industrial sections, the floatation techniques are used to purify water; a process through which air bubbles are inserted into water and the organic and inorganic suspending ingredients attach, accordingly, to the bubbles and float on the surface of the water. They are, then, removed from the water by skimming devices. (2,3). Similarly, in the case of this patient, inflammatory cells accumulated in the attaching point of air bubbles to the aqueous and created a precisely similar pattern to that of KP in endothelium (1), for which the abbreviated form of ABP (Air Bubble Precipitate) is used.

Authors think this property of air bubble is one of many causes of Intraocular lens opacification(4) due to IOL touching with inflammatory cells and pigment in junction with air bubble. This technique might have a diagnostic application in uveitis and endophthalmitis patients. Given the small aqueous volume and the sampling limitations, a higher chance of positive result would exist by injecting air bubble into the AC and through the selection of aqueous in the surface with special fine needle where it meets the air.