An Unusual Case of Unilateral Papilledema

Neuroretinitis from neurosyphilis is an uncommon finding in previously healthy young individuals. A 37-year-old presented with three days of painless, unilateral vision loss with an associated diffuse erythematous non-pruritic truncal rash. Physical exam demonstrated vision loss in the left eye. Fun...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daniel Quesada, Matthew Stapleton, Jadipak Heer, Phillip Aguìñiga-Navarrete, Luke Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eScholarship Publishing, University of California 2019-11-01
Series:Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine
Online Access:https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7641s559
Description
Summary:Neuroretinitis from neurosyphilis is an uncommon finding in previously healthy young individuals. A 37-year-old presented with three days of painless, unilateral vision loss with an associated diffuse erythematous non-pruritic truncal rash. Physical exam demonstrated vision loss in the left eye. Fundoscopic exam showed unilateral peripapillary hemorrhage, papilledema and venous engorgement. Labs showed positive syphilis antibody qualitative. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated 12 millimeters of high right frontal lobe cerebrospinal fluid density. The patient was treated with benzylpenicillin and within 18 hours had improvement of his vision.
ISSN:2474-252X