Bilateral fungal infection inducing a serpiginous-like picture.

PURPOSE: To report the clinical findings of a patient who presented with an atypical bilateral fungal retinitis that was established by retinochoroidal biopsy. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 56-year-old systemically healthy man presented with progressive visual loss in his left eye for 3 weeks. Visual acuity was 20/40 in the left eye, and 20/20 in the right eye and fundus examination showed macular retinal pigmented epithelium changes in his left eye. Over the following four months, his lesions progressed to serpiginous-like widespread retinal pigmented epithelium atrophy and his visual acuity decreased to 20/100, but no signs of ocular inflammation were found. Treatment with oral corticoids, valganciclovir and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole showed no efficacy. Blood analysis and cultures, laboratory investigations, and imaging tests were carried out looking for infectious and inflammatory diseases, but all tests were negative. Two months later, the patient presented with the same kind of lesions in the other eye (right eye), so he was subjected to retinochoroidal biopsy. Histopathological examination of specimen revealed the presence of intraretinal and choroidal fungal hyphae. Oral voriconazole was initiated achieving clinical remission, but no visual improvement was obtained. The source of the infection remains unknown since all tests results were negative. However, his profession as brewmaster might be related to the origin of the infection. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of intraocular fungal infection can be challenging. Retinochoroidal biopsy may be useful to establish the diagnosis in those atypical cases with nonrevealing workup and inflammation localized to the retina.

Serous Retinal Detachment Associated with Dome-Shaped Macula and Staphyloma Edge in Myopic Patients before and after Treatment with Spironolactone.

Objective. Serous retinal detachment (SRD) is a common anatomical complication associated with dome-shaped macula (DSM) and staphyloma margin in myopic patients. Here we described the anatomical and functional outcomes obtained with the use of oral spironolactone, a mineralocorticoid antagonist, in the management of myopic patients with SRD associated with DSM and staphyloma margin. Methods. We evaluated both eyes of twelve myopic patients with long-standing SRD associated with DSM or staphyloma margin. The patients were treated daily for six months with oral spironolactone 50 mg. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness (CRT), determined by optical coherence tomography, were evaluated on the first day and on monthly follow-up visits. Results. Pretreatment BCVA (mean ± standard deviation) was 0.406 ± 0.324 LogMAR, and posttreatment BCVA was 0.421 ± 0.354 LogMAR (P = 0.489). Pretreatment CRT was 323.9 ± 78.6 µm, and after six months of treatment it was significantly lower, 291.2 ± 74.5 µm (P = 0.010). There were no treatment-related complications. Conclusions. We evaluated a novel treatment for SRD associated with DSM and staphyloma margin in myopic patients. After six months of treatment with the mineralocorticoid antagonist spironolactone, the subretinal fluid and CRT were significantly reduced; however, there was no improvement in BCVA.