Dengue fever-associated necrotizing scleritis: A case report with long-term follow-up

Dengue fever is a notable emerging infectious disease that is now seen worldwide, with an estimated incidence of approximately 390 million cases per year. Although ocular complications are uncommon among dengue fever-infected patients, caution is needed to prevent vision loss. Here we report a potentially serious sight-threatening complication of dengue fever, dengue fever-associated necrotizing scleritis.

After being bitten by mosquitoes, a 60-year-old Japanese female exhibited positive serologic tests of immunoglobulin M and G enzyme immunoassays for dengue viral infection along with a decrease of leukocytes and platelets. These findings led to a dengue fever diagnosis. Slit lamp examination of her left eye revealed a conjunctival and scleral injection, elevation of the entire circumference of the sclera, and bulging of the sclera on the nasal upper side with a patch of avascular episcleral tissue. Since additional systemic examinations identified no autoimmune diseases such as rheumatism, we diagnosed the patient as dengue fever-associated scleritis.

Intensive systemic and topical steroids were administrated during the initial acute phase. Over the next 15 months, the amount of steroid was tapered off.

Initial findings for the scleritis gradually declined in response to steroid treatment. Although there was no recurrence of active scleritis, gradual thinning of the sclera continued to occur during the 18-year follow-up.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of dengue fever-associated necrotizing scleritis with long-term follow-up. This case suggests the existence of a long-term immune-mediated mechanism during the development of the dengue fever-associated necrotizing scleritis. Dengue fever virus patients found to have red eyes need to be carefully followed and treated, as these eyes might develop thinning of the sclera that could lead to rupture of the globe, thereby resulting in blindness.