Newborn with bilateral congenital cataracts: Never forget congenital rubella syndrome

Inara Chacon Fonseca; Jacqueline Wong; Kamiar Mireskandari; David Chitayat

doi:10.1093/pch/pxz005

Newborn with bilateral congenital cataracts: Never forget congenital rubella syndrome

Paediatr Child Health. 2020 Mar;25(2):72-76. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxz005. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Authors

Inara Chacon Fonseca¹, Jacqueline Wong^{2

3}, Kamiar Mireskandari⁴, David Chitayat^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
² Division of Infectious diseases, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
³ Department of Pediatrics, North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
⁵ The Prenatal Diagnosis and Medical Genetics Program, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario.

Abstract

A term, growth-restricted newborn presented with a sepsis-like picture, persistent pulmonary hypertension and bilateral cataracts. Initial review of prenatal and family history, as well as microbiological investigations were noncontributory. Following lenticular extraction, viral examination of the lenses confirmed the presence of rubella. Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) presents with a constellation of signs and symptoms that overlap with many other conditions. The presence of bilateral cataracts in a newborn is a rare finding and this case is used to review the broad etiology of congenital cataracts. We propose a structured diagnostic approach for clinicians, remembering that CRS is a rare but possible etiology. The early diagnosis of CRS in this case, allowed us to initiate appropriate management and preventive measurements.

Keywords: Bilateral cataracts; Congenital; Rubella.

Publication types

Case Reports