Postsurgical sympathetic ophthalmia refractory to treatment: the response to infliximab.
OBJECTIVE
A clinical case of a postoperative sympathetic ophthalmia is presented and its response to the monoclonal antibody infliximab.


METHODS
A 61-year-old woman.


RESULTS
The treatment with prednisone, cyclosporine, azathioprine, and mycophenolate mofetil did not completely control the loss of visual acuity caused by the disease. Monthly intravenous infusions of infliximab (5 mg/kg) significantly improved the condition of the patient, allowing the cyclosporine and azathioprine to be withdrawn and the prednisone to be reduced to 10 mg/d.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of the immunosuppressive drug infliximab in combination with prednisone improved the prognosis of a patient suffering from sympathetic ophthalmia. The reported effectiveness of infliximab in the treatment of T lymphocyte-mediated diseases suggests that it could be used earlier in cases of sympathetic ophthalmia when treatment with corticosteroids must be shortened.
*Uveitis Department †Rheumatology Department, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
Emilio Dorronzoro
ED
Ramírez
Juan Jacobo
JJ
Guijarro González
Rosario García
RG
Vicuña