[Ophthalmologic diagnosis of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia or Rendu-Osler-Weber disease]. / Diagnóstico oftalmológico de un caso de telangiectasia hemorrágica hereditaria o enfermedad de Rendu-Osler-Weber.

CASE REPORT: Our patient was a 45-year-old woman who had recurrent episodes of hematic epiphora, repeated epistaxes for which no cause was found and a family history of gastric hemorrhage. One of her daughters also suffered from spontaneous hemorrhages. DISCUSSION: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is rarely diagnosed by an ophthalmologist; however the occurrence of bloody tears occurring spontaneously in a patient with epistaxis or gastric hemorrhage should lead to suspicion of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia or Rendu-Osler-Weber disease. It should never be forgotten that clinical examination and appropriate investigations are basic components of disease diagnosis.

Diagnóstico oftalmológico de una caso de telangiectasia hemorrágica hereditaria o enfermedad de Rendy-Osler-Weber / Ophthalmologic diagnosis of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia or Rendu- Osler-Weber disease

Caso clínico: Mujer de 45 años con episodios recurrentes de epífora hemática espontánea. La paciente presentaba epistaxis de repetición no filiadas y, tenía antecedentes familiares de hemorragia digestiva, además una de sus hijas sufría de epistaxis. Discusión: El diagnóstico de telangiectasia hemorrágica hereditaria por oftalmólogos es un hecho infrecuente. La presencia de lágrimas con sangre o epífora hemática espontánea, en un paciente con historia de hemorragias de repetición en forma de epistaxis o hemorragia digestiva, nos tiene que hacer sospechar y buscar la presencia de esta enfermedad. La historia y exploración clínica son fundamentales en el diagnóstico de dicha enfermedad

Case report: Our patient was a 45-year-old woman who had recurrent episodes of hematic epiphora, repeated epistaxes for which no cause was found and a family history of gastric hemorrhage. One of her daughters also suffered from spontaneous hemorrhages. Discussion: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is rarely diagnosed by an ophthalmologist; however the occurrence of bloody tears occurring spontaneously in a patient with epistaxis or gastric hemorrhage should lead to suspicion of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia or Rendu-Osler-Weber disease. It should never be forgotten that clinical examination and appropriate investigations are basic components of disease diagnosis (Arch Soc Esp Oftalmol 2008; 83: 381-384)