Spectral optical coherence tomography findings in an elderly patient with syphilitic bilateral chronic panuveitis

Abstract

Purpose: To report the spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) features of a focal retinitis in an elderly male patient with bilateral syphilitic panuveitis. Observations: In the left eye (LE), spectral domain SD-OCT images during the active period revealed hyperreflectivity extending through the full thickness of the retina with no individualization of the layers, except for the retinal pigment epithelium. Once the lesion healed, SD-OCT imaging revealed an inner retinal atrophy and a mild disruption of the retinal pigment epithelium. Conclusions and importance: In our patient, treponemal infection seemed to produce full-thickness retinal damage with partial involvement of the retinal pigment epithelium. The severe retinal damage, in this case, led to a poorer visual outcome than in other forms of syphilitic retinal involvement.

Keywords

• Ocular syphilis
• Elderly patient
• HIV infection
• Retinitis
• Panuveitis
• Optical coherence tomography