Bilateral Transient Myopia with Sulfasalazine Treatment

Clin Med Insights Case Rep. 2019 Jun 18:12:1179547619855388. doi: 10.1177/1179547619855388. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Purpose: Several case reports of transient drug-induced myopia have been reported, mainly due to sulfa drugs. We present a case of a sudden and significant increase in myopia associated with initiation of Sulfasalazine for long-standing ulcerative colitis in an adult Caucasian female.

Case report: Our patient presented to the emergency room with acute bilateral visual loss. Ocular examination was normal, except for myopia of -4 Diopters (D) in both eyes (BE). The patient was advised to stop the medication, and her vision improved within 4 days to best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 6/7.5 with a refractive correction of -0.75 D in her right eye (RE) and BCVA of 6/6 with a refractive correction of -0.50 D in her left eye (LE).

Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the second reported case of transient Sulfasalazine-induced myopia.

Keywords: Sulfasalazine; acute myopia; ciliary body edema; drug-induced myopia; transient.

Publication types

  • Case Reports