Ophthalmic Shingles with Simultaneous Acute Retinal Necrosis in the Opposite Eye

Purpose: To report a case of acute retinal necrosis (ARN) occurring in the opposite eye to the ophthalmic shingles eruption. Design: Case report. Methods: Clinical examination and multimodal imaging review, including ultra-widefield photography and fluorescein angiography (FA). Results: A 49-years-old man attended the Uveitis Service for concurrent acute visual loss in the right eye and ophthalmic shingles skin eruption of the left ophthalmic trigeminal branch. Fundus examination of the right eye revealed multiple yellowish patchy areas of retinitis in the peripheral retina consistent with ARN. Multimodal imaging and laboratory tests confirmed the diagnosis. Discussion: Herpes Zoster Ophtalmicus (HZO) represents the 10-20% of Herpes Zoster (HZ) cases and ARN is a rare but sight-threatening complication due to the viral widespread along the retina. By definition, the reactivation of Varicella Zoster virus (VZV) has a unilateral clinical expression, due to the centrifugal neural pathway followed by the virus from the neural ganglia, and HZO, as well, results located on the same side of the skin affection. The case presented contradicted this postulate. Conclusion: prompt diagnosis, through fundus examination and FA, and proper antiviral therapy were the mainstays to counteract the posterior uveitis. Nowadays, vaccination is a safe weapon to efficaciously reduce the ZVZ incidence among general population.