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CASE REPORT
Year : 2013  |  Volume : 3  |  Issue : 4  |  Page : 160-162

Therapeutic dilemma in serpiginous choroiditis


1 Department of Ophthalmology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan
2 Department of Ophthalmology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua; School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
3 Department of Ophthalmology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua; Department of Ophthalmology, China Medical University Hospital; China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan

Correspondence Address:
Chun-Ju Lin
Department of Ophthalmology, 135 Nanxiao Street, Changhua, County 500
Taiwan
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.1016/j.tjo.2013.03.006

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A 43-year-old woman had blurred vision in the left eye for 4 years. Her best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in the right eye and 20/200 in the left eye. The fundus showed grayish-yellow, jigsaw-puzzle-shaped lesions at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium and choriocapillaries emanating from the optic nerve head in both eyes. Fluorescein angiography showed late leakage in active lesions and hypofluorescence in hyperpigmented areas. Oral prednisolone and cyclosporine were given first. However, after posterior subtenon triamcinolone injections in both eyes and one intravitreal triamcinolone injection in the left eye, macular edema worsened. Steroid-induced central serous chorioretinopathy was suspected, so we tapered prednisolone rapidly and changed to azathioprine. Subsequent optical coherence tomography demonstrated retinal pigment epithelial detachment in the right eye subsided gradually. Fundus autofluorescence imaging showed progressively quiescent lesions. Unfortunately, acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, and ischemic stroke developed after 6 weeks azathioprine. In the acute phase of serpiginous choroiditis, corticosteroids are most commonly used. However, steroid therapy may be complicated with steroid-induced central serous chorioretinopathy. When we shift to other systemic immunosuppressive regimens, such as azathioprine, the possibility of acute myocardial infarction should be kept in mind.


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