Posters

Favorable long-term prognosis of cataract surgery in herpes zoster ophthalmicus

Poster Details

First Author: D.Mahajan UK

Co Author(s): K. Chaudhary   M. Deepti   P. Panwar              

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To describe ocular complications of herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) which can reappear as late as 10 years after the onset of disease and appear to be unrelated to the severity of the initial disease. In case of herpes zoster scleritis, patients have a severe acute attack of HZO complicated most commonly by iridocyclitis and raised intraocular pressure (IOP), which occurs when keratitis and uveitis complicate herpes zoster. Scleritis is a rare presentation of HZO, and it can pose a diagnostic problem to the unwary ophthalmologist. The importance to manage these complications has been highlighted.

Setting:

We describe a female patient who developed scleritis, complicated cataract and secondary glaucoma 2 years after being diagnosed by HZO.

Methods:

In this patient secondary glaucoma was managed medically and the patient underwent extracapsular cataract extraction for the complicated cataract.

Results:

Final visual acuity was 6/6 and IOP was 22.4 mm Hg. This is a rare report describing favorable long-term (more than 20 years) prognosis for surgical management of cataract associated with HZO together with scleritis, secondary glaucoma and post-herpetic neuralgia.

Conclusions:

Scleritis, episcleritis, and complicated cataract can recur in subsequent years secondary to inflammation in HZO. Postherpetic neuralgia may occur, which can be severe and disabling, and affect patients’ quality of life. A favorable outcome may be attained with surgery for complicated cataract associated with HZO if the condition is managed optimally and intraocular inflammation is well controlled.

Financial Disclosure:

None