Tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome (TINU syndrome) with unilateral neuroretinitis: a case report

To report a case of tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome (TINU syndrome) with unusual unilateral neuroretinitis.

An 11-year-old girl who developed anterior uveitis 3 months after acute tubulointerstitial nephritis, without any etiologic factors for either nephritis or uveitis, is presented.

Several days after the anterior uveitis, the patient presented with unilateral optic disk edema associated with a serous retinal detachment of the posterior pole, never previously described in TINU syndrome, leading to the formation of perifoveal intraretinal exudates.

In spite of these posterior lesions, clinical course confirmed the previously reported favorable visual outcome of TINU syndrome treated with corticosteroids. It appeared that ocular impairment in TINU syndrome could be more diffuse and more extensive than previously described. As well as the whole uveal tract, the retina and the optic nerve may also be the ocular targets of the idiopathic inflammatory response in TINU syndrome. (Eur J Ophthalmol 2004; 14: 334-7).