To describe the in vivo confocal microscopy corneal findings in a patient treated with gold sodium thiomalate.
A woman with rheumatoid arthritis who had been treated with gold sodium thiomalate for 32 years came to our center for an ophthalmologic examination about 5 years ago. Besides visual acuity, the examination included slit-lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure, and funduscopy. Confocal microscopy was performed using Confoscan 4 (Nidek Technologies, Padova, Italy) with a 40x lens.
Every layer of the cornea is affected by gold deposits with high reflectivity, especially in the anterior stroma, where they have a larger dimension.
Corneal chrysiasis can be evaluated by confocal microscopy, giving information on corneal metabolism and physiology.