Approximately 50 % of patients with scleritis are known to be associated with systemic connective tissue diseases or vasculitic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Wegener's granulomatosis, relapsing polychondritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. The patients with scleritis in association with Behcet's disease (BD) have been rarely described in the literature. We report a 46-year-old female patient with BD who developed the nodular scleritis.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use ; Behcet's Syndrome/drug therapy ; Behcet's Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Behcet's Syndrome/complications* ; Case Report ; Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Human ; Middle Age ; Prednisolone/therapeutic use ; Scleritis/drug therapy ; Scleritis/diagnosis* ; Scleritis/complications*

A 52 year-old, contact lens-wearing man presented with progressive right eye pain and redness for one month. He had been evaluated and treated for necrotizing scleritis by multiple eye care specialists prior to presentation. He underwent a complete systemic work-up for both autoimmune and infectious causes of scleritis, including a culture. The culture revealed heavy growth of Nocardia asteroides complexes. The patient was treated with topical amikacin and oral Bactrim. Following several weeks of antibiotic treatment, the patient's infection resolved completely, and his visual acuity returned to baseline status. Nocardia is a rare but potentially devastating cause of necrotizing scleritis that may affect contact lens wearers without an associated keratitis. Prompt recognition and early treatment with appropriate antimicrobial agents are critical to achieve a favorable outcome.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Contact Lenses/*adverse effects/*microbiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nocardia Infections/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Nocardia asteroides/*isolation & purification ; Scleritis/drug therapy/*microbiology

We report on a case of necrotizing keratoscleritis in primary Sjogren's syndrome. A 66-year-old female patient who was complaining of ocular pain, tearing and decreased vision in her right eye for the previous two days was admitted to our hospital. Visual acuity in the right eye was hand movement, and initial examination showed a 3.0 x 1.8 mm uveal mass bulging through a corneoscleral melting site in the nasal region of the right eye. Positive anti-nuclear antibody was identified at a titer of 1:320 with a speckled pattern, and both Sjogren's syndrome A and Sjogren's syndrome B antibody tests were positive, with titers >200 U/mL. A technetium 99m pertechnetate salivary scan revealed chronic sialoadenitis in the submandibular glands. We diagnosed the lesion as necrotizing keratoscleritis due to primary Sjogren's syndrome. A corneoscleral patch graft was performed, followed by immunosuppression including oral cyclosporin and topical prednisolone. During a follow-up period of 12 months, the corneoscleral graft was well maintained with no recurrence.
Aged ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glucocorticoids/administration & dosage ; Humans ; Keratitis/drug therapy/*etiology/pathology ; Necrosis ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Scleritis/drug therapy/*etiology/pathology ; Sjogren's Syndrome/*complications/drug therapy/pathology ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: To report a case of syphilitic scleritis initially misdiagnosed as noninfectious nodular or fungal scleritis. CASE SUMMARY: A 63-year-old female, who had severe headaches and ocular pain in her left eye despite treatment with topical and oral NSAIDs for the past 4 months, was transferred from a local clinic. The patient had a history of pterygium excision in the same eye 4 years prior. Upon presentation, she had a scleromalacia with calcified plaque at the nasal conjunctiva. An erythematous nodular elevated lesion was observed in the superonasal sclera. Microbiological smear and cultures were performed to exclude infectious scleritis. Under the suspicion of noninfectious nodular scleritis, the patient was prescribed topical oral steroid and oral NSAIDs. Candida parapsilosis was identified by the microbiological culture. Under the suspicion of fungal scleritis, oral fluconazole and topical amphotericin B were administered, but the lesions did not improve. On the 23rd day of treatment, we discovered the patient had a history of syphilis. The serology test was negative for RPR and FTA-ABS IgM but positive for FTA-ABS IgG. Under the suspicion of syphilitic scleritis, oral doxycycline (200 mg bid) was administered and benzathine penicillin M (2.4 million units) was injected intramuscularly 3 times at 1-week intervals. After the doxycycline and benzathine penicillin therapy, the pain and nodular erythematous lesions were completely resolved. CONCLUSIONS: As shown in this case, syphilitic scleritis should be considered when the patient is resistant to other conventional treatments and shows positive serological tests for syphilis. This is important because syphilitic scleritis is usually aggravated by steroid treatment but can be cured by proper anti-syphilitic chemotherapy.
Amphotericin B ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Candida ; Conjunctiva ; Doxycycline ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Fluconazole ; Headache ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Middle Aged ; Penicillin G Benzathine ; Pterygium ; Sclera ; Scleritis* ; Serologic Tests ; Syphilis ; Treponema pallidum

PURPOSE: To report a case of multicentric Castleman disease that presented with scleritis. CASE SUMMARY: A 42-year-old male presented with decreased visual acuity in the left eye. Castleman disease had been diagnosed 21 months before and treated with systemic steroids and combined chemotherapy. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of the left eye was 0.02 and the intraocular pressure was 42 mmHg. Scleral edema and corneal edema were noted using a slit lamp examination. The anterior chamber cell was 2+ according to Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature criteria. The fundus was invisible due to the anterior segment lesion. After one month, scleritis developed in the right eye and the patient complained of ocular pain. Topical steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were prescribed. Due to recurrent scleritis and anterior uveitis, cataract extraction and laser iridectomy were performed on the left eye, and systemic steroids and the antimetabolite methotrexate were started. After 9 years of follow-up, all medications were stopped and there was no recurrence of inflammation, with a BCVA of 1.0 in both eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of a patient with scleritis accompanied with Castleman disease using systemic steroids and methotrexate resulted in a good prognosis.
Adult ; Anterior Chamber ; Cataract Extraction ; Corneal Edema ; Drug Therapy ; Edema ; Follow-Up Studies ; Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intraocular Pressure ; Iridectomy ; Male ; Methotrexate ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Scleritis ; Slit Lamp ; Steroids ; Uveitis ; Uveitis, Anterior ; Visual Acuity

We report a case of posterior scleritis effectively managed with intravitreal bevacizumab. A 71-year-old woman was diagnosed with posterior scleritis. Although she was initially treated with systemic steroids, her clinical presentation deteriorated. She was then treated with a single intravitreal injection of bevacizumab and aqueous humor collection. The aqueous level of vascular endothelial growth factor prior to the intravitreal injection was 880.51 pg/mL, greater than that in the healthy control group (p < 0.001). One month later, the scleritis was completely resolved, and the patient remained stable during six months of follow-up. Intravitreal bevacizumab appears to be an effective adjuvant therapy for patients with posterior scleritis.
Aged ; Angiogenesis Inhibitors/administration & dosage ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/*administration & dosage ; Aqueous Humor/metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fundus Oculi ; Humans ; Interleukin-8/metabolism ; Intravitreal Injections ; Microscopy, Acoustic ; Scleritis/*drug therapy/metabolism/pathology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism