Q Fever-Associated Chorioretinitis.

Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent in Q fever, a zoonotic disease. Ocular manifestations of this disease are extremely rare and have been infrequently reported. In this report, we describe a rare case of chorioretinitis in a patient incompletely treated for Q fever. We highlight the unique ocular manifestation with multimodal imaging, and the importance of a thorough history and prompt and correct treatment of the disease with systemic therapy. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2024;55:412-414.].

Endogenous Fungal Endophthalmitis: A Single-Center Retrospective Study and Review of the Literature.

PURPOSE: To evaluate factors that inform systemic antifungal choices in patients with endogenous fungal endophthalmitis (EFE). DESIGN: Single-institution retrospective case series. METHODS: Charts of EFE patients from 2010 to 2023 were reviewed. Patients treated systemically for EFE with a minimum of 14 days of follow-up were included. Outcome measures included time to improvement in vitritis or chorioretinitis, systemic therapy modification, and need for surgical intervention. RESULTS: A total of 20 eyes of 16 patients were included. Candida species were most common (43.8%), followed by culture-negative EFE (37.5%) and Aspergillus species (18.8%). In all, 90% of eyes had vitritis and/or macula-involving chorioretinitis. The majority of Candida infections (60%) or culture-negative EFE (75%) were treated initially with oral antifungals. Patients with a history of immune compromise, positive fungal culture, or positive Fungitell assay were more likely to be treated with early intravenous (IV) antifungal therapy. Two patients required systemic antifungal therapy modification because of worsening chorioretinitis, in 1 case due to voriconazole-resistant Aspergillosis that demonstrated chorioretinal lesion growth despite intravitreal amphotericin B injections and systemic voriconazole, and in the second case due to worsening chorioretinitis from Candida dubliniensis infection that regressed upon switch from oral to IV fluconazole. CONCLUSIONS: Initial systemic treatment decisions in patients with EFE were driven by systemic culture positivity, systemic symptoms, or comorbidities. Intravitreal antifungal therapy may be insufficient to arrest progression of chorioretinal lesions in some cases. Larger studies are needed to determine whether visible end-organ damage in the form of chorioretinitis may be useful for guiding systemic therapy changes.

Saprochaete clavata Chorioretinitis in a Post-chemotherapy Immunocompromised 9-Year-Old Child.

PURPOSE: To describe the management of bilateral chorioretinitis with Saprochaete clavata in a post-chemotherapy immunocompromised young patient. METHOD: A retrospective case report. RESULT: A 9-year-old boy treated with chemotherapy for type 2 acute myeloid leukaemia was diagnosed with Saprochaete clavata (formerly called Geotrichum clavatum) fungaemia. Systematic ocular examination revealed chorioretinitis of the left eye becoming bilateral within the next 3 days. Therapy was based on systemic administration of voriconazole, amphotericin B and flucytosine associated with granulocytic stimulation without stabilizing the ophthalmological situation. Bilateral intravitreal injections of amphotericin B were administered. Voriconazole residual blood concentration was monitored to adjust daily dose. Final best corrected visual acuity in the right eye was 20/50 and 20/20 in the left eye. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of chorioretinitis with Saprochaete clavata. Because of its unpredictable pharmacokinetics, especially in pediatric population, therapeutic drug monitoring of voriconazole is essential to control fungal infection.

Lyme disease atypically presenting with a singular symptom: Unilateral chorioretinitis.

BACKGROUND: Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is a spirochetal disease. Lyme disease-related ocular findings may also provide important clues. Ocular involvement is most commonly seen as uveitis, chorioretinitis, conjunctivitis, keratitis, episcleritis, papillitis, panuveitis, ischemic optic neuropathy, papilledema, and retinal vasculitis. CASE: A 27-year-old male patient was admitted with a history of fatigue, malaise, and sudden loss of vision in his left eye for 3 days. The best visual acuity was found 20/20 in the right eye and 20/400 in the left eye. Fluorescein fundus angiography showed no pathological findings in the right eye; but hyperfluorescence that was compatible with choroiditis foci was seen in the left eye. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed choroidal thickening in the left eye compared to the right eye. Lyme IgM antibody was found to be positive, explaining choroiditis etiology, while IgG values were found to be negative. Western blot verification test was positive. The patient was treated with 2 × 100 mg doxycycline (21 days) with a diagnosis of Lyme disease, prednol 1 mg/kg/day (10 days) for choroiditis. Omeprazole tablets were given 1 × 1 during the period of cortisone intake. On the third day of treatment, visual acuity increased to 20/200 and continued to increase until reaching 20/20 in the second week. CONCLUSIONS: Lyme disease is rare, but must be kept in mind when investigating the etiology of chorioretinitis and retinal vasculitis. The patient reported here is, to our knowledge, the second case reported in literature that shows atypical clinic for Lyme disease with unilateral chorioretinitis without Erythema chronicum migrans (ECM).

Acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinopathy presenting as atypical multiple evanescent white dot syndrome.

BACKGROUND: This paper reports the case of a young man who presented with syphilis masquerading as multiple evanescent white dots syndrome (MEWDS), which turned out to be an acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinopathy (ASPPC) during follow-up. CASE PRESENTATION: A 59-year-old healthy male consulted for a three days' history of visual impairment in both eyes. On multimodal imaging, he was diagnosed as MEWDS. Fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) showed early peripheral bilateral granular hyperfluorescence that correlated with the yellow-white dots found on fundus exam. Indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) depicted hypofluorescent dots on late phase. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) revealed numerous inner retinal highly reflective deposits in the outer nuclear layer and disruption of the ellipsoid zone. After initial improvement, he presented again for a sudden visual loss at 3 weeks. FFA, ICGA and SD-OCT demonstrated the same but more numerous and outer lesions suggesting an ASPPC. A full inflammatory work-up revealed highly positive titers of rapid plasma regain (RPR) and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-Abs), suggesting a syphilis infection. The ophthalmological manifestations dramatically improved after the patient was admitted for high-dose intravenous penicillin G 24 million per day for 2 weeks. CONCLUSION: This is the first case that reports an ocular syphilitic infection masquerading as MEWDS at presentation and that turns to be an ASPPC. Syphilis serology should be routinely done in every case of atypical MEWDS especially when unusually presented in a young healthy man, with bilateral involvement and a bad clinical evolution.

Syphilitic chorioretinitis presenting as a choroidal granuloma.

A rare case of syphilitic uveitis presenting as a choroidal granuloma is described in this case report. The clinical picture resembled that of a tubercular choroidal granuloma. However, the patient was positive for treponemal (treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay) as well as non-treponemal tests (venereal disease research laboratory test) for syphilis. Therefore, the patient was treated for ocular syphilis and responded to antisyphilitic therapy. There was a complete resolution of the lesion at the end of 14 days of treatment.

Acute Syphilitic Posterior Placoid Chorioretinitis in a Saudi Patient.

A 37-year-old otherwise healthy male presented with paracentral scotoma in his right eye for 1 day with a history of having unprotected sex with multiple partners. The patient was diagnosed to have acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinitis with multimodal imaging including spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and fundus fluorescein angiography. His condition improved after 2 weeks course of intravenous benzyl penicillin 1.2 g every 4 h in collaboration with infectious disease physician.

Intravitreal Bevacizumab for Treatment of Bilateral Candida Chorioretinitis Complicated with Choroidal Neovascularization.

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to describe a case of bilateral Candida chorioretinitis complicated with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and effectively treated with combined intravitreal bevacizumab and amphotericin B.Results: An 83-year-old patient was diagnosed with Candida chorioretinitis in both eyes. Optical coherence tomography and fluorescein angiography revealed CNV. Treatment using combined intravitreal bevacizumab and amphotericin B was initiated followed by a 4-weekly regimen of bevacizumab, eventually resulting in the regression of the subretinal fluid and intraretinal edema.Conclusion: Our study supports the combined use of intravitreal bevacizumab and amphotericin B in the management of CNV in Candida chorioretinitis.

CHORIOCAPILLARIS FLOW VOIDS IN CRYPTOCOCCAL CHOROIDITIS USING OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY.

PURPOSE: To report an unusual case of cryptococcal choroiditis and highlight the multimodal imaging findings, particularly the choriocapillaris flow voids using optical coherence tomography angiography. METHODS: Retrospective review of the clinical course of a single patient with cryptococcal choroiditis. RESULTS: A 69-year-old man undergoing chemotherapy for T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia developed disseminated crytococcal neoformans infection. He developed bilateral cryptococcal choroiditis with multiple yellow-white choroidal lesion on fundoscopy in both eyes. Multimodal imaging of the choroidal lesions revealed flow voids at the level of the choriocapillaris on optical coherence tomography angiography that corresponded to hypocyanescent areas on indocyanine green angiography when registered and overlaid on the indocyanine green angiography images. The superficial and deep capillary plexuses were spared. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates that optical coherence tomography angiography was useful in demonstrating that the cryptococcal choroidal lesions impaired choriocapillaris perfusion but spared the superficial and deep retinal plexuses.

Coccidioidomycosis Chorioretinitis.

Coccidioidomycosis is an invasive fungus found primarily in the soil of Southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Primary disease mostly presents as a pulmonary disease although multiple organ systems can be affected through lymphohematogenous dissemination, with ocular seeding extremely rare. When present, the anterior segment structures are most commonly affected. Isolated choroid and/or vitreal disease has been reported infrequently. This is a case of chorioretinitis with vitreal involvement.

Multimodal Imaging Analysis of Acute Syphilitic Posterior Placoid Chorioretinitis: A Case Report.

The authors report a multimodal imaging analysis of a case of acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinitis (ASPPC) occurring in a 51-year-old man. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.5 and 0.8 in the right and left eyes, respectively. The authors performed spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence, fluorescein angiography, and indocyanine green angiography. All of the examinations were suggestive of the diagnosis of ASPPC, a rare manifestation of syphilis that has distinctive anatomical characteristics that are detectable early on with multimodal imaging. Moreover, serological tests were positive for syphilis infection, so the patient received intravenous penicillin G for 14 days. Final BCVA was 1.0 in the right eye and 0.9 in the left eye. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2019;50:e179-e184.].

Bartonella presenting as branch retinal artery occlusion in a child.

Branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) is rare in children. Bartonella is a known cause of branch retinal artery occlusion in adults, but it is typically not considered in the differential diagnosis for pediatric BRAO. We present the case of a 12-year old boy with a BRAO caused by a Bartonella henselae infection. This is the youngest such case reported in the literature. Although rare, Bartonella infection may be an important and underrecognized cause of pediatric BRAO.

A CASE OF INTRAVESICAL BACILLUS CALMETTE-GUERIN-RELATED ENDOPHTHALMITIS AND RETINITIS CONFIRMED WITH RETINAL BIOPSY.

PURPOSE: To present a rare case of bilateral endogenous chorioretinitis and unilateral endophthalmitis due to Mycobacterium bovis in a patient who received intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment. METHODS: We present a case of a single male patient with bilateral endogenous chorioretinitis due to Mycobacterium bovis in a patient who received intravesical BCG, an attenuated strain of M. bovis widely used to treat superficial bladder cancer. The patient underwent intravitreal tap, vitrectomy, and chorioretinal biopsy with histologic examination. RESULTS: The patient presented with a visual acuity of light perception in the right eye and 20/25 in the left eye. Examination of the right eye revealed dense vitreous haze, whereas the left eye demonstrated multifocal, yellow, round subretinal pigment epithelial lesions in the macula. The patient underwent a vitreous tap with injection of antibiotics and was admitted to the hospital for empiric systemic antibacterial and antifungal treatment along with an endogenous endophthalmitis workup. His systemic evaluation and vitreous tap did not identify a causal organism, and the eyes failed to improve on empiric therapies. He underwent pars plana vitrectomy and retinal biopsy of the right eye that revealed vitreal and infiltrative retinal acid-fast bacilli. Cultures confirmed M. bovis to be susceptible to ethambutol, rifampin, and isoniazid. After starting antimycobacterials, his vision improved to finger counting in the right eye, and his vision and appearance of the lesions remained stable in the left eye at postoperative month one. CONCLUSION: Intravesical BCG stimulates a local cell-mediated response that destroys malignant cells. It is generally well tolerated, although it rarely can result in secondary systemic infection. Intravesical BCG-related endophthalmitis is rare and should be considered in the setting of ocular inflammation in patients with a history of bladder cancer who may not disclose previous treatment with BCG.

Multimodal imaging of multifocal chorioretinitis secondary to endogenous candida infection.

PURPOSE: To present multimodal imaging of multifocal chorioretinitis secondary to endogenous candida infection in a young adult. METHODS: A 49-year-old woman who presented for evaluation of bilateral endogenous candida chorioretinitis underwent complete ophthalmic examination, in addition to fundus photography (FP), enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence (FAF), fluorescein angiography (FA), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). RESULTS: Multimodal imaging of both eyes of the patient affected by endogenous candida chorioretinitis was performed. FP showed multiple white chorioretinal lesions at the posterior pole, FAF showed dark dot at the posterior pole surrounded by hyperautofluorescence area, FA showed early hyperfluorescence round perifoveal lesion at the posterior pole and small hyperfluorescence dots under the inferior retinal vessels. Early ICGA showed hypofluorescence dots at the posterior pole. Late ICGA showed dark hypofluorescence dots at the posterior pole surrounded by faint hyperautofluorescent ring. OCTA showed dark areas corresponded to hypoperfusion areas seen with early ICGA. CONCLUSION: We reported multimodal imaging of an unusual occurrence of multifocal chorioretinitis due to immunosuppression. These findings suggested that the infection resulted from choroidal infiltration via the short posterior ciliary arteries with resultant breakthrough into the retina, rather than via the central retinal artery. By comparing findings on OCTA with data obtained from traditional systems, we are gaining essential information on the pathogenesis of endogenous candida chorioretinitis.