UNILATERAL NEURORETINITIS AS A LATE-ONSET MANIFESTATION OF THE CHIKUNGUNYA FEVER: A CASE SERIES.

OBJECTIVE

To report 3 cases of unilateral neuroretinitis associated with the chikungunya fever (CHIKV).

METHODS

Retrospective noncomparative case series.

RESULTS

Three female patients with similar complains of blurry vision and decreased visual acuity that started several weeks after experiencing symptoms of the CHIKV. All patients had decreased best-corrected visual acuity and distortion on the Amsler grid in the affected eye. Evidence of unilateral optic nerve swelling and macular exudates was noted in all patients. No pharmacologic therapy was given. At 2-month follow-up evaluation, all patients had regained at least 3 lines in the Snellen chart, and subretinal fluid and optic nerve swelling had resolved.

CONCLUSIONS

Unilateral neuroretinitis can present as a late-onset manifestation of CHIKV. Three patients with diagnosis of CHIKV developed unilateral neuroretinitis weeks after the acute viral syndrome, suggesting a possible immunological etiology for this manifestation. To our knowledge, this is the first case series of CHIKV leading to neuroretinitis in the Western World.