An unusual presentation of ocular rosacea.

Rosacea is a chronic, progressive disease of unknown cause affecting the eye and the facial skin. Ocular rosacea is often underdiagnosed if the ophthalmologist does not inspect the patient's face adequately during the ocular examination. Severe ocular complications and blindness can occur if the treatment is delayed because of non-diagnosis of the rosacea. Here, we present a case of ocular rosacea in a 78-year-old Caucasian woman. Based on the ocular lesions, which preceded cutaneous involvement, she was misdiagnosed as having ocular cicatricial pemphigoid initially. This case emphasizes the difficulty in diagnosis when ocular findings precede those of skin manifestations, and rosacea should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of chronic cicatrizing conjunctivitis.

An unusual presentation of ocular rosacea / Uma apresentação incomum da rosácea ocular

ABSTRACT Rosacea is a chronic, progressive disease of unknown cause affecting the eye and the facial skin. Ocular rosacea is often underdiagnosed if the ophthalmologist does not inspect the patient's face adequately during the ocular examination. Severe ocular complications and blindness can occur if the treatment is delayed because of non-diagnosis of the rosacea. Here, we present a case of ocular rosacea in a 78-year-old Caucasian woman. Based on the ocular lesions, which preceded cutaneous involvement, she was misdiagnosed as having ocular cicatricial pemphigoid initially. This case emphasizes the difficulty in diagnosis when ocular findings precede those of skin manifestations, and rosacea should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of chronic cicatrizing conjunctivitis.

RESUMO A rosácea é uma doença crônica e progressiva de causa desconhecida que afeta o olho e a pele do rosto. A rosácea ocular é muitas vezes pouco diagnosticada se o oftalmologista não inspecionar adequadamente o rosto do paciente durante o exame ocular. Podem ocorrer complicações oculares graves e cegueira se o tratamento for adiado devido ao não diagnóstico da rosácea. Um caso de rosácea ocular em uma mulher caucasiana de 78 anos de idade é apresentado. Com base nas lesões oculares, que precederam o envolvimento cutâneo, ela foi mal diagnosticada como penfigóide cicatricial ocular inicialmente. Este caso enfatiza a dificuldade de diagnóstico quando os achados oculares precedem aqueles das manifestações da pele e um diagnóstico de rosácea deve ser mantido em mente no diagnóstico diferencial da conjuntivite cicatrizante crônica.