Open AccessAn unusual cause of optic neuritis: rickettsiosis disease
Author(s) -
L. Hanen,
M. Snoussi,
F. Frikha,
Raida Ben Salah,
M. Jallouli,
Chérif Yosra,
El Aoud Sahar,
S. Marzouk,
Z. Bahloul
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
asian pacific journal of tropical biomedicine/asian pacific journal of tropical biomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 2588-9222
pISSN - 2221-1691
DOI - 10.12980/apjtb.4.2014apjtb-2014-0359
Subject(s) - optic neuritis , medicine , rickettsia conorii , vasculitis , dermatology , etiology , myalgia , serology , multiple sclerosis , visual acuity , rickettsiosis , immunology , pathology , disease , ophthalmology , antibody
Optic neuritis (ON) may be associated to a range of autoimmune or infectious diseases. We report herein a case of ON induced by Rickettsia conorii. A 53-year-old woman presented with a recent decrease in visual acuity and headache. ON was diagnosed on the basis of ophthalmologic examination and flash visual evoked potentials. Etiological investigation made in our department eliminated first autoimmune disorders (vasculitis and connective tissue diseases). Rickettsial optic neuritis was confirmed by detection of specific antibodies in serum and the negativity of other serologic tests. An association between corticosteroids and cyclines was prescribed with improvement of visual acuity