[A case of acute retinal necrosis syndrome caused by herpes simplex virus type 1]

A case of bilateral acute retinal necrosis syndrome accompanied by viral meningitis in a 46 year-old male is reported. The characteristic scattered yellowish-white retinal exudates and retinal detachment appeared in both eyes within 2 weeks, and after treatment with intravenous acyclovir and gamma-globulin, and encircling, scleral buckling, pars plana vitrectomy, 100% SF6 tamponade procedures, the retinal detachment was repaired and the yellowish-white retinal exudates disappeared. On virological examination, the complement fixation titer for herpes simplex virus (HSV) in serum increased more than eightfold in pair serum, and the quotient of antibody for HSV type 1 (HSV-1) IgG was high. HSV-1 was isolated and cultured from the subretinal fluid. From these results, it is concluded that HSV-1 infection was the cause of the meningitis and acute retinal necrosis in this case.