[Surgical treatment of retrofoveal choroid neovascularization in multifocal choroiditis]

BACKGROUND

Surgical removal of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization allows visual improvement, especially in young patients.

METHODS

Three eyes of 3 patients were prospectively studied. Subfoveal choroidal neovascularization was related to presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome. The surgical procedure included vitrectomy, surgical excision of the neovascular membrane, and air tamponnade.

RESULTS

Follow-up was 6, 12 and 20 months. Vision improved in 2 eyes. In one case, recurrent extrafoveal neovascularization was treated with laser photocoagulation.

DISCUSSION

Surgery seems to be an alternative to photocoagulation in subfoveal choroidal neovascularization in presumed ocular histoplasmosis.

Presumed multifocal cryptococcol choroidopathy prior to specific systemic manifestation

PURPOSE

Disseminated cryptococcosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals, especially those with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Early diagnosis and treatment greatly improves the outcome, so clinical clues that lead to prompt diagnosis are important.

METHODS

Three patients with AIDS in whom multifocal choroiditis and choroidal lesions were the initial signs of disseminated cryptococcosis were treated with systemic amphotericin B and flucytosine. All of the patients had a systemic work-up that included evaluation of the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF).

RESULTS

All three patients who were seen with the choroidal lesions as the presenting sign were noted to have either positive titers for cryptococcus or cultures that grew cryptococcus in the CSF. The choroidal lesions are presumed to be due to cryptococcus as no histopathologic or microscopic studies were available for ocular tissues. The choroidal lesions started to resolve one to three months after systemic treatment with amphotericin B and flucytosine.

CONCLUSION

Primary choroidal lesions in patients with AIDS may herald severe systemic disseminated disease. Funduscopic examination, however, may detect disseminated cryptococcal disease before other overt clinical manifestations, thereby allowing prompt institution of effective therapy.

Ocular tuberculosis. A prospective study in a general hospital

Ocular tuberculosis has traditionally been considered uncommon or anecdotal. Imprecise and variable diagnostic criteria have contributed to the confusion surrounding this topic. The increase in extrapulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis during the AIDS era established the need for a prospective study of ocular involvement in patients with all types of tuberculosis using well-defined criteria. During a 15-month period, 300 cases had culture-proven tuberculosis at our institution. We randomly selected 100 for systematic ophthalmologic evaluation. Our criteria for ocular tuberculosis were divided as follows: certainty (isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from ocular specimens), probability (patients with isolation of M. tuberculosis from extraocular samples, with ocular lesions not attributable to other causes that respond to anti-tuberculous treatment), and possibility (same as probability but follow-up impossible). Ocular tuberculosis was present in 18 patients (18%) of which 10 patients fulfilled probability and 8 patients fulfilled possibility criteria. Eleven of 18 patients had HIV infection. In 11 patients, ocular involvement was asymptomatic. Almost all patients (17/18) had choroiditis, and other ocular lesions included papillitis, retinitis, vitritis, vasculitis, dacryoadenitis, and scleritis. Multivariate analysis showed as risk factors independently predicting ocular involvement in patients with ocular tuberculosis the presence of miliary disease (odd ratio 43.92, p = 0.002), ocular symptoms (odds ratio 6.35, p = 0.0143), and decreased visual acuity (odds ratio 0.04, p = 0.012). We observed an unexpectedly high (18%) incidence of ocular involvement, frequently asymptomatic, in patients with tuberculosis. Miliary disease is a clear predisposing factor in both HIV-infected and noninfected populations. Ocular examination should be routinely considered in patients with proven or suspected tuberculosis.

Retinal vascular nonperfusion and retinal neovascularization as a consequence of cytomegalovirus retinitis and cryptococcal choroiditis

BACKGROUND

Cytomegalovirus retinitis and cryptococcal choroiditis are opportunistic infections in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. These infections are associated with a retinal vasculitis and vascular attenuation.

METHODS

We present a case of retinal vascular nonperfusion and retinal neovascularization in a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

RESULTS

Retinal vascular nonperfusion and retinal neovascularization were confirmed by fluorescein angiography.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first reported case of retinal neovascularization in a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, ocular cytomegalovirus retinitis, and cryptococcal infection.

[Tuberculous choroiditis]

Tuberculosis is a rare cause of choroiditis. In most cases there is only a presumptive diagnosis based on a history of TB, its clinical picture, and a positive skin test. A 79-year-o;d man complained of acute, right visual loss. On examination, choroiditis was found. During his 20s he had had pulmonary tuberculosis; his Mantoux test was positive.

Tuberculous choroiditis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Tuberculosis is a common illness among patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and therefore, choroidal tubercles are expected to be found in these patients. Nevertheless, this association (AIDS-induced choroidal tuberculosis) is infrequently reported in the literature. We report four cases of patients with AIDS and tuberculosis who did not have any visual complaints and in whom a routine funduscopic examination disclosed the presence of choroidal nodules. These lesions were not accompanied by vitritis, iridocyclitis, or any sign of uveitis as has been reported in cases of tuberculous choroiditis in patients with AIDS by others in the literature.

Cytologically proven seronegative Lyme choroiditis and vitritis

PURPOSE

To report on a vitreous specimen in a 53-year-old patient with unilateral choroiditis and vitritis of unknown cause.

METHODS

Cytologic examination of a vitreous aspirate stained by the Papanicolaou method.

RESULTS

Intravitreal spirochetes consistent with Borrelia burgdorferi were found in this seronegative patient.

CONCLUSION

Vitreous specimens of patients with choroiditis and vitritis of unknown cause should be examined cytologically, particularly when serologic results do not corroborate the clinical findings of Lyme disease.

Infectious multifocal choroiditis in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome

PURPOSE

The purposes of this study are to determine the incidence of infectious opportunistic choroiditis in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), to study the association of these choroidal infections with systemic dissemination, and to investigate the life expectancy and cause of death in patients with infectious opportunistic choroiditis.

METHODS

A total of 470 eyes of 235 consecutive autopsies of patients with AIDS were examined by histopathologic methods. The clinical charts and autopsy reports of these patients were subsequently reviewed for presence of systemic dissemination of various infectious agents.

RESULTS

Of the 235 patients, 18 were found to have infectious choroiditis. The etiologic agents found were: Cryptococcus neoformans, Pneumocystis carinii, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Candida, Aspergillus fumigatus, Toxoplasma gondii, and Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare. In 15 of these 18 patients, the cause of death was considered to be due to systemic dissemination of the organism causing the choroiditis. Only 4 of the 18 cases of infectious choroiditis were diagnosed during life, and the survival time of these patients after diagnosis was only 25 days. Five of the 18 patients also were found to have cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of the retina.

CONCLUSION

Multifocal choroiditis due to endogenous infectious emboli in patients with AIDS reflects systemic dissemination and localization of infectious agents predominantly in the choriocapillaris. Early diagnosis and treatment are imperative and may be life-saving.

Systemic viral infections and their retinal and choroidal manifestations

Viruses are one of the most common causes of infections involving the posterior segment of the eye. Such infections can occur either on a congenital or an acquired basis, and may affect primarily the retina or the choroid. Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) and rubella infections may result in retinitis. CMV retinitis is also the most common cause of acquired viral retinitis, primarily because of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Other types of viral retinitis, such as those caused by herpes simplex or herpes zoster, can occur in immunocompromised or immunocompetent individuals. Retinitis or choroiditis caused by viruses such as measles, influenza, Epstein-Barr virus, and Rift Valley fever virus, typically occurs subsequent to an acute viral systemic illness. The systemic and ocular manifestations, as well as the histopathology, laboratory tests, differential diagnoses, and treatment regimens for each of the individual viruses are discussed in detail.

Multifocal choroiditis with evidence of Lyme disease

A 32-year-old man had multifocal choroiditis without vitreous involvement. The diagnosis of Lyme disease was suggested by serial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of his serum and a cerebrospinal fluid specimen. The ocular findings resembled those seen in patients with acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy (APMPPE). The active lesions resolved after administration of a two-week course of intravenous ceftriaxone. This case suggests that some cases of APMPPE actually may be Lyme disease.