Occlusive Retinal Vasculitis in a Pediatric Patient With Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease and Sickle Cell Trait.

A 13-year-old Black male patient with a history of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) and sickle cell trait presented with acute painless vision loss and no light perception vision (NLP) in his left eye. The examination was indicative of occlusive retinal vasculitis with near total central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). He was started on oral steroids with dramatic reperfusion and improvement of the retinal hemorrhages. However, his vision remained at NLP. Oral steroids were tapered, and rituximab infusion was initiated. While ocular involvement is uncommon in KFD, vision-limiting complications, such as occlusive retinal vasculitis, ophthalmic artery occlusion, and CRAO can occur. Early systemic immunosuppression is key in achieving rapid remission. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2024;55:235-239.].

Purtscher-like retinopathy in patients with COVID-19.

Purpose: Several ophthalmological complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) involving the anterior and posterior segment have been reported in the literature. We present two patients with Purtscher-like retinopathy presenting with bilateral central vision loss and diffuse peripapillary cotton wool spots extending into the macula bilaterally. Observations: In both cases, the patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 within a week of their presentations and had relatively mild courses of COVID-19. In the first case, the patient's vision was hand motion in the right eye and count fingers in the left eye. A broad workup was negative, revealing no concerns for underlying conditions traditionally associated with Purtscher-like retinopathy. Head and neck imaging was also negative for vascular abnormalities. The patient was given a diagnosis of Purtscher-like retinopathy due to COVID-19 infection and was started on 60 mg of oral prednisone. At 4-week follow up, patient's vision had improved to 20/100 in the right eye and 20/80 in the left eye, although she continued to have minimal central vision. The patient continued to have Purtscher flecken in the posterior pole, but the density of the opacities and retinal hemorrhages had significantly improved. In the second case, the patient's past medical history was significant for Huntington's disease and kidney transplant on dialysis but she had not had any ocular issues prior. One week within diagnosis of COVID-19, she presented with a vision of count fingers in the right eye and 20/400 in the left eye. The patient's baseline dose of 5 mg prednisone was increased to 60 mg for 1 week. She received an Ozurdex implant in both eyes. The patient's vision at 9 week follow up improved to 20/40 pinholing to 20/25 in the right eye and 20/200 pinholing to 20/70 in the left eye and dilated exam showed improving edema and improving density of Purtscher-flecken from initial presentation. Conclusions and importance: Very few cases of COVID-19 associated Purtscher-like retinopathy have been reported in the literature and all have been reported with serious clinical courses of COVID-19. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first cases to be reported after relatively mild courses of COVID-19 and highlight the importance of including COVID-19 in the differential for Purtscher-like retinopathy.

ANGIOGRAPHIC SMOKESTACK LEAKAGE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CENTRAL SEROUS CHORIORETINOPATHY.

PURPOSE: To report a series of cases with smokestack leakage on fundus fluorescein angiography outside the clinical setting of central serous chorioretinopathy. METHODS: A multicenter, observational retrospective case series evaluating fundus fluorescein angiography on Topcon and Optos systems. RESULTS: Seven patients with neovascularization due to ischemic retinopathy demonstrated a unique smokestack pattern of angiographic leakage. The patients' ages ranged between 44 and 71 years and were seen at 3 academic teaching hospitals in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area. Five patients had been diagnosed with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, one with sickle cell ischemic retinopathy, and one with branch retinal artery occlusion; none of the patients had a known history or clinical signs of current or past central serous chorioretinopathy. CONCLUSION: This is the first published case series to the author's knowledge of ischemic retinopathy displaying a smokestack leakage pattern on fundus fluorescein angiography that is classically described with idiopathic central serous chorioretinopathy.