Background: Acute retinal necrosis is a rare but devastating acute posterior uveitis caused by a member of the herpes virus family. We report an extremely rare ARN case following penetrating trauma in the contralateral eye.
Case presentation: A 61-year-old male was misdiagnosed as sympathetic ophthalmia due to a penetrating trauma history of the contralateral eye. The subsequent administration of high-dose IVMP therapy led to rapid progression of the retinal necrosis. ARN was strongly suspected base on the clinical examination and confirmed by the PCR aqueous testing. The patient finally got good visual outcomes by the effective and prompt antiviral treatment.
Conclusion: Ophthalmologists should be alert to the possibility that penetrating injury can trigger the activation of latent viruses. If a patient experiences visual symptoms in the contralateral eye after an open-globe injury, it is recommended that a thorough peripheral retinal examination be performed to avoid missing ARN.
Keywords: ARN; Antiviral treatment; penetrating trauma.