Acute Myopia: could it be the presenting symptom of a rheumatic disease? A case report

This is a case-report of a patient who came to our Eye Emergency Room for acute onset of myopia and asthenia. The purpose is to evaluate the causes of acute myopia in a 28 year old woman with a family history of rheumatic diseases and a positive antibody titer (ANA). The UBM-study showed a 360° choroidal effusion and the hematological analysis showed mild anemia, lymphocytosis and ANA antibodies were positive. All that signs could suggest a vasculitis-like onset of an autoimmune disease, involving the eye first. Although the diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) or other autoimmune diseases cannot be confirmed according to the rheumatologic criteria, the vasculitic ocular manifestations with positive antibodies in the young woman need further evaluation because it seems to be enough to refer the patient to a rheumatology follow-up.