CASE PRESENTATION: A 33-year-old Malay man with underlying acquired immunodeficiency syndrome receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy was referred to the Opthalmology Department with complaints of blurry vision for the past 2 months. He had tested positive for and been diagnosed with COVID-19 1 month previously. Clinical examination of the fundus revealed extensive perivascular sheathing of both the artery and vein suggestive of FBA in the right eye. Laboratory testing of nasal swabs for COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serum CMV antibody were positive. The patient was then admitted to the COVID-19 ward and treated with intravenous ganciclovir.
CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be aware of and take the necessary standard precautions for possible coexistence of COVID-19 in an immunocompromised patient presenting with blurred vision, eye redness, dry eye and foreign body sensation despite the absence of clinical features suggestive of COVID-19. Whether FBA is one of the ocular signs of co-infection of COVID-19 and CMV remains unknown. Further studies are needed to provide more information on ocular signs presented in patients with concurrent COVID-19 and CMV infections.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical spectrum and identify risk factors for chronicity of cutaneous vasculitis.
METHODS: Retrospective data analysis of 275 patients diagnosed with cutaneous vasculitis from January 2008 to December 2013.
RESULTS: The mean age was 33.7 (±17.89) years, with female predominance. The majority of patients were Malays (67.3%). Skin biopsy was performed in 110 (40%) patients. The commonest sign was palpable purpura (30.6%). The aetiology remained elusive in 51.3% of patients. Common identifiable causes include infection (19.7%) and connective tissue disease (10.2%). Extracutaneous features were noted in 46.5% of patients. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and antinuclear antibody were raised in 124 of 170 and 27 of 175 patients with documented results respectively. Cutaneous vasculitis was the presenting symptom in seven patients with newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus. Anti Streptolysin O Titre was positive in 82 of 156 patients with documented results. Despite antibiotics, 31.7% of them had chronic lesions. Prednisolone alone was used in 20% of patients while 16.4% needed steroid-sparing agents. Most patients who needed systemic therapy (62%) had unidentifiable aetiology. Among the 155 patients who remained under follow up, 36.4% had chronic disease, one patient succumbed due to septicaemia, and the rest fully recovered within three months. The presence of ulcerative lesion was significantly associated with developing chronic vasculitis (p=0.003).
CONCLUSION: The clinical spectrum of cutaneous vasculitis in our population was similar to other studies. Ulcerative lesion predicts a chronic outcome.