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.