Susac syndrome: The importance of an early diagnosis

A 38-year-old man who attended the emergency department with headache, accompanied by vomiting, bradypsychia and gait instability, for which he was admitted to Neurology for study. During his admission, he began to present bilateral hearing loss and blurred vision in the left eye, with areas of arterial occlusion and hyperfluorescence of the arterial wall being observed in the ophthalmological examination. As a result, he was diagnosed with Susac syndrome. He was treated with systemic corticosteroids, as well as with rituximab and subsequently, with intravenous immunoglobulins and mycophenolate mofetil. The patient managed to preserve visual acuity, with gait instability and bilateral hearing loss as sequelae. Early diagnosis of Susac syndrome is important, because a delay in the start of treatment can lead to irreversible sequelae such as deafness, blindness or neurological involvement.