Shingles Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Shingles, including details on symptoms, treatment, causes, virus.

Varicella-zoster virus retinitis: successful evolution with a combination of antiviral therapies.

Oueghlani E, Baglivo E, Durakovic O, Safran AB

Clinique d'Ophtalmologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: We present the description of a successful outcome in a case of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) acute retinal necrosis (ARN). HISTORY AND SIGNS: A healthy 40-year-old patient was admitted for a VZV retinitis. THERAPY AND OUTCOME: 10 days after the onset of intravenous (i. v.) acyclovir treatment, new small peripheral retinal necrotic lesions appeared in the right eye. A viral resistance was suspected and the acyclovir therapy was optimised with i. v. foscarnet combined with 2 intravitreal injections of ganciclovir. The outcome was favourable with a final vision of 1.0 after a follow-up of 30 months. No systemic or local complications were observed. CONCLUSIONS: VZV ARN is a severe infection with a poor prognosis. This case demonstrates that combination of antiviral therapies given intravenously (acyclovir + foscarnet) and in the vitreous (ganciclovir) may be safe and efficacious in the management of necrotising herpetic retinopathies affecting immunocompetent patients.

Published 23 March 2005 in Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd, 222(3): 264-6.
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