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Infections of the Posterior Segment: Acute Retinal Necrosis

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Ocular Infections

Part of the book series: Essentials in Ophthalmology ((ESSENTIALS))

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Abstract

Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is a rare, but potentially a blinding, disease caused by the herpes virus family including herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus. ARN most commonly occurs in otherwise healthy immunocompetent persons of either gender at any age. Typically, the necrotizing retinitis starts in the periphery and spread toward the posterior pole, associated with vitreous opacities and, in some cases, involving the optic disk. Polymerase chain reaction is helpful in diagnosing ARN. Retinal detachment can complicate ARN in 50–75 % of cases. Early intravenous with or without intravitreal antiviral therapy is mandatory to limit ARN progression. Vitreoretinal surgery with silicon oil tamponade is often required for cases of retinal detachment associated with ARN.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, KAUH, Old Airport Road, 245, Riyadh, 11411, Saudi Arabia

    Hani S. Al-Mezaine MD, Marwan Abouammoh MD & Ahmed M. Abu El-Asrar MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Hani S. Al-Mezaine MD
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  2. Marwan Abouammoh MD
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  3. Ahmed M. Abu El-Asrar MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hani S. Al-Mezaine MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, The Eye Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Khalid F. Tabbara

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmed M. Abu El-Asrar

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Monastir, Tunisia

    Moncef Khairallah

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Al-Mezaine, H.S., Abouammoh, M., El-Asrar, A.M.A. (2014). Infections of the Posterior Segment: Acute Retinal Necrosis. In: Tabbara, K., El-Asrar, A., Khairallah, M. (eds) Ocular Infections. Essentials in Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43981-4_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43981-4_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-43980-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-43981-4

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