Severe retinal vasculitis in systemic lupus erythematosus leading to vision threatening paracentral acute middle maculopathy

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus can affect any organ system at presentation and throughout its course. Lupus retinal vasculitis is responsible for the visual loss of variable severity and typically ascribed to the involvement of pre-capillary superficial arterial vasculature. Using multimodal imaging techniques and electrophysiology, we demonstrate the first-ever case of severe lupus retinal vasculitis resulting in the rare association of paracentral acute middle maculopathy. The findings showcase the involvement of both superficial and deep retinal capillary vasculature and the localisation of retinal dysfunction. This precise evaluation facilitated the timely use of combination immunomodulatory therapy with localised pan-retinal laser photocoagulation, resulting in the preservation of vision.

Keywords:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• retinal vasculitis
• paracentral acute middle maculopathy
• multimodal imaging
• immunosuppression

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Conflict of interest

None.