Episcleritis as a possible complication of lymphocyte immunotherapy--case report.

Introduction: Recurrent episceleritis is uncommon. Lymphocyte immunotherapy (LIT) is frequently useful in establishing successful pregnancies in women with previously failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles.

Methods: A woman with recurrent episcleritis and previous splenectomy was carefully questioned to see if there was any association with having had the LIT procedure. Methylprednisone 10 mg/day x 5 days was always given before embryo transfer because of assisted embryo hatching.

Results: There was a tendency for the episodes to occur immediately after the LIT, especially four days after embryo transfer. However, they also occurred several times between IVF cycles before she ovulated.

Conclusions: Since she had never had an episode of episcleritis before LIT and because she always developed the problem shortly after the procedure it seems that the procedure could have this potential side-effect. The possibility exists that LIT may not cause this problem in people with intact spleens. Possibly, the use of an immunosuppressive, e.g., methyprednisone exacerbates the problem.