The Great Imitator Masquerading as Autoimmune Hepatitis and Demystifying as Fulminant Syphilitic Retinitis.

PURPOSE: Syphilis is a "Great Masquerader" because of its versatile clinical manifestations. We aim to report a patient whose first presentation was with presumed autoimmune hepatitis. Fulminant retinitis subsequently ensued, thus enabling correct diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: Case description. RESULTS: A 62-year-old male presented with bilateral drop in vision. One month earlier, right eye (RE) arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy was suspected because of severe headache, sudden drop in vision, relative afferent pupillary defect, and elevated inflammatory markers. Systemic steroids were instituted. Brain imaging and temporal artery biopsy were unyielding. Four months earlier, liver biopsy performed because of elevated cholestatic liver enzymes, revealed granulomatous hepatitis. After ruling out viral hepatitis, autoimmune etiology was presumed, and prednisone was started. On presentation, visual acuity (VA) was counting fingers in RE and 6/20 in the left eye (LE). Bilateral panuveitis with punctate inner retinitis, placoid chorioretinitis was diagnosed. Serological tests were strongly positive for syphilis. Lumbar puncture confirmed the existence of neurosyphilis. Systemic penicillin was initiated. One month later, VA improved to RE 6/10, LE 6/7.5, with marked resolution of posterior uveitis. No recurrence was observed over 27-month-period. CONCLUSION: Acquired syphilitic hepatitis is rarely reported. Administering steroids potentially aggravated the infection. The characteristic features of placoid chorioretinitis and punctate inner retinitis connected the pieces of the puzzle together to the diagnosis of ocular and neurosyphilis. Intrahepatic cholestasis with negative serological panel of hepatotropic pathogens should raise the suspicion of non-hepatotropic pathogens especially syphilis.

Long-term follow-up of a healthy man with endogenous Streptococcus anginosus endophthalmitis.

We report the long-term follow-up of an immunocompetent patient who presented with slowly progressive endogenous endophthalmitis secondary to Streptococcus anginosus. A 46-year-old healthy man presented with a two-month history of right eye iritis. On examination, visual acuity was 20/60 with intraocular pressure of 6 mm Hg. There was a small layer of hypopyon with non-granulomatous anterior uveitis and vitritis. On funduscopy, fluffy white peripheral retinal and pre-retinal lesions were noted in superonasal periphery. The patient denied any present or past illness. Diagnostic pars plana vitrectomy was performed. Culture and polymerase chain reaction of the vitreous sample were positive for Streptococcus anginosus. Intravitreal vancomycin and ceftazidime and systemic ceftriaxone were administered. Work-up which included blood and urine cultures, chest x-ray, echocardiography and abdominal ultrasound was unyielding. Subsequently and because of persistent post-infectious inflammatory reaction, intravitreal and oral steroids were administered in addition to oral azathioprine later on. After one year of follow-up, visual acuity was 20/20 with near vision of Jaeger 3 + and no signs of active uveitis were seen. Therefore, Streptococcus anginosus should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a slowly progressive endophthalmitis also in immunocompetent individuals.

Catastrophic Antiphospholipid Syndrome: Skin, Eye and Brain Involvement.

PURPOSE: To report on a patient with probable catastrophicantiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS) with eye, brain and skin involvement. METHODS: Descriptive presentation of the case and of the relevant clinical photographs. RESULTS: A 17-year-old girl presented with fatigue, loss of appetite, arthralgia, lower limb skin ulcers and livedo reticularis. Workup showed anemia, elevated ESR, CRP, and positive anti-phospholipid antibodies. Right eye funduscopy showed cotton-wool spots along the inferotemporal arcade with arteriolar occlusion, perivascular retinal hemorrhages, and diffuse retinal ischemia in the temporal peripheral retina. Fluorescein angiogram confirmed the widespread retinal ischemia. Brain MRI revealed several white matter lacunar infarcts, minute cortical/subcortical hemorrhages and subarachnoidal insular hemorrhage. The patient was treated with immunomodulatory therapy, Enoxaparin and retinal laser photocoagulation. Within 2 months of treatment, the facial livedo reticularis resolved and the leg ulcers markedly improved. CONCLUSION: CAPS causes multiple organ thrombosis and is associated with high rate of mortality.

Endophthalmitis panorama in the Jerusalem area.

PURPOSE: The spectrum of microbial infections and the pattern of their susceptibility are variable among communities. Researching these data will lead to the establishment of the most appropriate national management strategies. The purpose of this study was to analyze the epidemiological, clinical, microbial spectrum and antibiotic susceptibility of endophthalmitis cases in a tertiary referral center in Jerusalem. METHODS: Retrospective review of medical charts of patients presenting with endophthalmitis over a 12-year period. RESULTS: A total of 74 eyes of 70 patients (males 56%) were included. Mean age ± SD at presentation was 60 ± 19.5 years. Exogenous endophthalmitis accounted for 78% of cases, of which 62% followed an intraocular surgery, 21% occurred after intravitreal injections, 10% followed infectious keratitis and 7% were posttraumatic. Endogenous cases were predominantly observed in diabetic patients. Microbial isolates were identified in 44 samples. Of them, gram-positive bacteria were the predominant microorganisms detected in 33 samples (75%); Staphylococcus epidermidis and Enterococcus faecalis were the most commonly detected pathogens. Mean presenting ± SD LogMAR visual acuity (VA) was 2.38 ± 1.21 and it improved at last follow-up to 1.7 ± 1.37 (p = 0.004, paired t test). Cases secondary to gram-positive microbes were associated with improved VA during the follow-up while cases secondary to gram-negative microbes was correlated with poor final VA (p = 0.046, r2 = 0.4). There was no evidence of bacterial resistance in the antibiograms for either vancomycin, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone or amikacin. CONCLUSIONS: Intraocular surgery remains the most common event preceding endophthalmitis with coagulase-negative staphylococci being the most frequently detected microorganisms. The microbial spectrum of endophthalmitis is similar to that in the western world.

Staphylococcus epidermidis Endophthalmitis Masquerading as Panuveitis After an Imperceptible Ocular Trauma

Endophthalmitis after a penetrating trauma occurs in 3% to 30% of cases. Prompt recognition and treatment are paramount to avoid irreversible visual loss. We present a case of severe panuveitis following ocular trauma with a tree branch that did not cause any evident ocular wound and discuss the difficulties in achieving a diagnosis that can allow proper treatment. A healthy 21-year-old man presented with acute anterior uveitis. He was managed elsewhere with oral acyclovir and topical steroids for presumed herpetic uveitis. He subsequently developed severe panuveitis with profound decrease in vision. Diagnostic vitrectomy was performed and vitreous samples were positive for Staphylococcus epidermidis. Systemic and intravitreal antibiotic therapy was initiated and after 5 days, the patient recovered with a remarkable improvement in visual acuity to 6/12. Post-traumatic endophthalmitis can result from an imperceptible trauma with no obvious compromise of the globe.