Simultaneous bilateral painful ophthalmoplegia and exudative retinal detachment in rheumatoid arthritis.

ABSTRACT

A 47-year-old woman who suffered from chronic rheumatoid arthritis presented with bilateral painful ophthalmoplegia with proptosis and exudativeretinal detachment. The painful ophthalmoplegia with proptosis might have been caused by pachymeningitis involving the cavernous sinus bilaterally, or bilateral posterior scleritis spreading to the extraocular muscles and tendons. The exudative retinal detachment might have been a result of bilateral posterior scleritis which had spread to the choroid. These two unusual complications of rheumatoid arthritis occurred simultaneously in this case. Both complications responded to corticosteroid treatment.