Visual disturbance as initial presentation of hairy cell leukemia.
OBJECTIVE
Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare disorder that occasionally has visual symptoms after diagnosis. The authors present a case of HCL in which bilateral visual symptoms led to the initial diagnosis.


METHODS
Observational case report.


RESULTS
Bilateral decreased vision to 20/30 in the right eye and 20/40 in the left due to intraretinal and preretinal hemorrhages with no other systemic signs or symptoms prompted a hematologic evaluation in which HCL was found to be the causative disorder in a previously healthy 41-year-old man.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors present a rare case in which bilateral visual complaints led to the diagnosis of HCL. Thus, though uncommon, HCL should be considered in the differential diagnosis of otherwise unexplained retinal hemorrhages.
Charalel
Resmi
R
Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA - USA.
Jain
Atul
A
Rachakonda
Leelanand
L
Gaynon
Michael
M
D000328:Adult; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D007943:Leukemia, Hairy Cell / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D012166:Retinal Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014792:Visual Acuity