Toxoplasma Retinochoroiditis

Abstract

The left eye of a patient with a nine-year history of unilateral retinochoroiditis became blind and painful so that it had to be enucleated. Microscopic examination showed the retina to be packed with Toxoplasma cysts. Report of Case History. —The patient's first eye symptoms began at age 61 when he noted the insidious onset of foggy vision and a "black spot" in the inferotemporal field of the left eye. An ophthalmologic examination disclosed a cloudy vitreous in this eye and a whitish area above and slightly nasal to the disc. The visual acuity was 20/30 in each eye. The right eye was completely normal. A diagnosis of "subacute retinitis" was made and the patient was treated with foreign protein, steroids, and isoniazid. For the next nine years the posterior segment inflammatory activity continued relentlessly. Visual acuity decreased to 20/200. On three occasions, while the patient was receiving systemic steroids, slight