Purpose: To describe clinical features and therapeutic management of a case of isolated subretinal abscess (SRA) in an immunocompetent male patient with no predisposing conditions or risk factors.
Methods: Clinical data, including medical history, clinical findings and results of systemic investigations, were retrospectively collected in a 40-year-old man diagnosed with unilateral focal SRA.
Results: Systemic investigations did not reveal any extraocular infective focus. Prompt diagnosis of SRA and aggressive systemic antibiotic treatment averted breakthrough into the vitreous cavity and led to clinical resolution with preservation of visual acuity. No local recurrences or distal spread of the infection were found at follow-up.
Conclusions: In isolated SRA, timely systemic antibiotic treatment can lead to an excellent clinical outcome. Close monitoring is essential to prevent potential progression of SRA to a sight-threatening endophthalmitis, which would prompt an urgent shift in the therapeutic approach.
Keywords: Angiography; endophthalmitis; optical coherence tomography; subretinal abscess; systemic antibiotics.