Retinal periarteritis secondary to syphilis
E. R. Crouch Jr and M. F. goldberg
A 43-year-old black woman showed ophthalmoscopic evidence of retinal
arteriolitis two weeks after being treated for uniocular panuveitis.
Angiographic examination suggested that these deposits were not
intraluminal or endothelial atherosclerotic emboli or plaques, but were
deposits in the outer walls of retinal arterioles. Sequential
ophthalmoscopic and angiographic examinations at one-month intervals for 12
months showed no progression or change in location of these deposits.
Results of clinical and laboratory investigations suggested the diagnosis
of syphilis. We believe it is rare for syphilitic infection to be
implicated in the diagnosis of isolated retinal arteriolitis without
periphlebitis.
