Optic neuritis caused by varicella infection in an immunocompetent child.
Chickenpox may lead to several neurologic complications, but optic neuritis has rarely been described. We report on a 6-year-old immunocompetent patient who presented with unilateral optic neuritis and severe visual loss because of varicella infection. A week after varicella eruption, the child experienced blurred vision. An examination revealed decreased visual acuity of his right eye, a right pupil poorly reactive to light, and almost no color vision in his right eye. A history of chickenpox, the fundus examination, and the measurement of visual-evoked potentials allowed us to make a diagnosis of optic neuritis caused by varicella infection. The patient received only symptomatic relief with antipyretics. Three months later, his visual acuity improved to 20/40 in the right eye.
Department of Ophthalmology, Hippokration General Hospital, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Panagiotis K
PK
Stergiou
Ioannis M
IM
Konstantinou
Tania N
TN
Karagianni
Despina
D
Kavaki
Nikoleta G
NG
Printza
D002644:Chickenpox / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D008297:Male; D009902:Optic Neuritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D014792:Visual Acuity