Acute retinal necrosis following contralateral herpes zoster ophthalmicus.

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.