Infliximab and anterior optic neuropathy: case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND

Anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) agents have been increasingly used to treat patients with Crohn's disease, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and persistent uveitis. We describe a 68-year-old man with Crohn's esophagitis who developed a possible bilateral toxic anterior optic neuropathy during infliximab infusion.

METHODS

This is an observational case report, with review of the PubMed literature from 1977 to present.

RESULTS

This 68-year-old man with a 2-year history of Crohn's esophagitis developed acute bilateral visual loss during his third infliximab infusion. His clinical features and laboratory tests were characteristic for a bilateral anterior optic neuropathy. Only three cases of possible infliximab-associated anterior optic neuropathy have been reported in the literature to date.

CONCLUSION

It is important to consider the possibility of anterior optic neuropathy, in addition to retrobulbar optic neuritis, in patients who experience sudden-onset visual loss while being treated with infliximab.