Contributor: Gordon K. Klintworth
Hyperacute conjunctivitis is an extremely severe form of acute conjunctivitis[conjunctivitis - acute] caused by virulent bacteria such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It is a medical emergergy because the pathogen may become widely disseminated and the conjunctival lesion may progress to corneal ulceration, corneal perforation, and panophthalmitis. To prevent these complications it is essential that the responsible organism be rapidly identified using special culture media or molecular genetic methods so that the appropriate antibiotics can be used.