Abstract
Purpose:To report the first documented case of HLA-A29-positive birdshot chorioretinopathy in an African American patient.Methods:A 51-year-old African American woman presented with a 10-year history of photopsia, progressive decrease in visual acuity, metamorphopsia, and new nyctalopia. Both fundi showed evidence of periphlebitis, arterial attenuation, macular edema, and diffuse chorioretinal atrophy.Results:Fluorescein angiography revealed diffuse vascular leakage, and indocyanine green showed evenly distributed and symmetrical hypofluorescent spots, which were difficult to appreciate on fundoscopy. Workup revealed a positive HLA-A29 and was negative for sarcoid, tuberculosis, and syphilis.Conclusion:Birdshot chorioretinopathy overwhelmingly affects non-Hispanic Caucasians, but there have been rare reported cases in other ethnicities including Hispanics and African Americans. This patient's ethnicity may have contributed to the 10-year delay in diagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the first documented HLA-A29 positive case of birdshot chorioretinopathy in an African American. HLA-A29 may be a useful supportive test in cases with classic clinical presentation in non-Caucasian patients to enable the correct diagnose in a timely manner.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 201-204 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Retinal Cases and Brief Reports |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2016 |
Keywords
- HLA-A29
- birdshot
- choroiditis
- choroidopathy
- race
- uveitis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology