Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2014 May 16:2014:bcr2013202415.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2013-202415.

External ophthalmoplegia with orbital myositis in an adult patient after chickenpox infection

Jung-Hoon Kim  1 , Seung-Jun Lee  1 , Moosang Kim  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

External ophthalmoplegia with orbital myositis in an adult patient after chickenpox infection

Jung-Hoon Kim et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

Herpes zoster and chickenpox are caused by a single virus, varicella-zoster virus. Herpes zoster ophthalmicus-associated ophthalmoplegia is well documented. Very rarely, herpes zoster and chickenpox cause external ophthalmoplegia. A 48-year-old man was diagnosed with chickenpox and treated with intravenous acyclovir. He suddenly reported diplopia and restricted left eye movement. MRI of the orbit revealed thickening and abnormal contrast enhancement of the preseptal space and lateral rectus muscle of the left eye. In this case, external ophthalmoplegia occurred following chickenpox with radiological evidence of orbital myositis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of external ophthalmoplegia of radiologically confirmed orbital myositis after chickenpox infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Multiple papular eruptions on the trunk.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Nine cardinal photographs of the patient showing limitation of left lateral gaze. He had a left esotropia of 30 prism dioptres in the primary position.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hess screen test showing an underaction of the lateral rectus muscle of the left eye and an overaction of the medial rectus muscle of the right eye.
Figure 4
Figure 4
T1-weighted MRI showing thickening and enhancement (arrow) of the lateral rectus muscle.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fernández de Castro LE, Sarraf OA, Hawthorne KM, et al. Ocular manifestations after primary varicella infection. Cornea 2006;25:866–7 - PubMed
    1. Bozzola E, Tozzi AE, Bozzola M, et al. Neurological complications of varicella in childhood: case series and a systematic review of the literature. Vaccine 2012;30:5785–90 - PubMed
    1. Shin MK, Choi CP, Lee MH. A case of herpes zoster with abducens palsy. J Korean Med Sci 2007;22:905–7 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marsh RJ, Dulley B, Kelly V. External ocular motor palsies in ophthalmic zoster: a review. Br J Ophthalmol 1977;61:677–82 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Volpe NJ, Shore JW. Orbital myositis associated with herpes zoster. Arch Ophthalmol 1991;109:471. - PubMed

Publication types