Retinitis following varicella in a vaccinated child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Serious ocular disease following varicella (chickenpox) is rare in children. In addition, retinitis in children with hematologic malignancies may present a difficult diagnostic challenge because infectious retinitis may mimic leukemic involvement of the eye. We report a 7-year-old patient with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission who presented with visual complaints 2 weeks after developing chickenpox. Ophthalmologic evaluation revealed acute retinitis in the right eye. Prolonged therapy with acyclovir resulted in near complete recovery. Early diagnosis of VZV retinopathy and aggressive antiviral treatment is critical to prevent acute and long-term ocular sequelae.
Ross
Ashley
A
Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.
McLean
Thomas W
TW
Farber
Rebecca
R
Weaver
R Grey
RG
Chauvenet
Allen
A
Givner
Laurence B
LB
Shetty
Avinash K
AK
D000212:Acyclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D015458:Leukemia, T-Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012173:Retinitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine; D000212:Acyclovir