title: Bilateral exudative retinal detachment as a presenting sign of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
abstract: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can present with various ocular complications but exudative retinal detachment is a rare complication. A 36-year-old healthy young adult male presented with gradual decrease in the vision in both eyes over nearly 2 weeks. His best-corrected visual acuities were 20/50 and 20/25 at distance and N12 and N10 at near in the right and left eyes, respectively. Fluorescein angiography and optical coherence topography indicated bilateral exudative retinal detachment. Systemic workup revealed a marked increase in the number of white blood cells with 30% blast cells and immunophenotyping revealed common acute lymphoblastic leukemia-associated antigen (CALLA) positive precursor B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tap was negative. The patient started systemic chemotherapy and steroids. Bilateral exudative retinal detachment may be a presenting sign of acute lymphoblastic leukemiaALL in an otherwise healthy young adult. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of leukemia in such patients. A simple blood investigation such as complete blood profile confirms the diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Smt. Kanuri Santhamma Centre for Vitreoretinal Diseases, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Kallam Anji Reddy Campus, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Supriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chinta
authors.forename: Padmaja K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Rani
authors.forename: Uma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Manusani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology*; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity