Bilateral choroidopathy in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

We report a case of bilateral choroidopathy in a 35-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosed 3 years previously, and treated with hydroxychloroquine and steroids that ceased 6 months before ocular signs. She complained about rapid bilateral blurred vision with a severe loss of visual acuity. Fluorescein angiography found multiple leakage points in the posterior pole of the pigment epithelium. Ocular coherence tomography (OCT) and fundoscopy showed bilateral retinal detachments. Lupus choroidopathy was diagnosed and high steroids were given intravenously and allowed a rapid improvement. Visual acuity, fundoscopy, retinal angiography and OCT were normalized at 2 months. Choroidopathy is rarely reported in lupus and only about 30 patients are found in the literature.