BACKGROUND: A case report of contralateral acute retinal necrosis (ARN) following herpes zoster ophthalmicus. CASE: A 61-year-old male patient developed iridocyclitis and well-demarcated creamy-white retinal lesions at the nasal periphery in the right eye 1 month after herpes zoster ophthalmicus in the left eye. The patient had undergone surgery for primary lung cancer, and had subsequent intracranial metastasis of the tumor. OBSERVATIONS: The clinical diagnosis of ARN was supported by polymerase chain reaction investigation of the aqueous humor resulting in positive for varicella-zoster virus. Retinal lesions disappeared after systemic treatment with acyclovir, corticosteroids, and acetylsalicylate. No retinal detachment developed. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a careful ophthalmic follow-up for herpes zoster ophthalmicus patients because of the possibility of acute retinal necrosis developing in the contralateral eye.
BACKGROUND: A case report of contralateral acute retinal necrosis (ARN) following herpes zoster ophthalmicus. CASE: A 61-year-old male patient developed iridocyclitis and well-demarcated creamy-white retinal lesions at the nasal periphery in the right eye 1 month after herpes zoster ophthalmicus in the left eye. The patient had undergone surgery for primary lung cancer, and had subsequent intracranial metastasis of the tumor. OBSERVATIONS: The clinical diagnosis of ARN was supported by polymerase chain reaction investigation of the aqueous humor resulting in positive for varicella-zoster virus. Retinal lesions disappeared after systemic treatment with acyclovir, corticosteroids, and acetylsalicylate. No retinal detachment developed. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a careful ophthalmic follow-up for herpes zoster ophthalmicus patients because of the possibility of acute retinal necrosis developing in the contralateral eye.
Authors: Waseem H Ansari; Francesco Pichi; Paula E Pecen; Careen Y Lowder; Sunil K Srivistava Journal: Int Ophthalmol Date: 2017-04-22 Impact factor: 2.031