A Case of Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implantation in a Patient with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To report a case of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease with chronic recurrence, which was treated with intravitreal dexamethasone implantation. CASE SUMMARY: A 39-year-old female presented with decreased visual acuities in both eyes accompanied by headaches and tinnitus the previous week. On fundus examination and optical coherence tomography, multiple serous retinal detachments with subretinal septa were observed in both eyes, and she was diagnosed with VKH disease. After undergoing high dose intravenous steroid therapy at another hospital, she was treated with oral prednisolone and immunosuppressant drugs. However, she showed frequent recurrences, and also complained of side effects from prolonged systemic steroids. We then performed intravitreal injections of dexamethasone implants in both eyes at 3-week intervals. One month following the injections, the inflammations in the anterior chamber and vitreous opacities were improved. Until the last visit at 6 months after the injection, there was no significant recurrence of inflammation, although oral prednisolone had been tapered. CONCLUSIONS: In VKH disease, intravitreal dexamethasone implantation may be an effective treatment option if chronic recurrence occurs, despite systemic steroid and immunosuppressant therapy or sustained treatment being difficult to maintain because of side effects.