Background: This article presents a case of arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy as a manifestation of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA).
Case report: A 52-year-old woman suffered acute unilateral vision loss. Besides a unilateral papillary edema, serological investigations revealed elevated inflammation parameters with a positive (cytoplasmic) anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (c-ANCA) titer. In addition to the occurrence of pulmonary nodules and cavitary lesions this is indicative for the diagnosis of GPA.
Results: Treatment with cyclophosphamide and prednisolone led to a rapid regression of inflammation parameters but no visual improvement occurred.