Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada disease following a serology‐proven Bartonella henselae retinitis: A case report

Abstract Purpose: To report a case of Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada (VKH) disease following a serology‐confirmed bartonella henselae retinitis. Methods: A single case report. Results: A 41‐year‐old female patient presented with a central scotoma in her right eye (RE). Fundoscopic examination showed a focal retinitis with a macular star in the RE. Work‐up revealed positive bartonellosis serology. The patient was treated with oral azithromycine and oral steroids during 4 weeks with subsequent healing of the retinitis lesion. Three months after initial presentation, the patient complained of loss of vision in both eyes. Ophthalmological examination showed a best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/200 on both eyes, with a bilateral granulomatous panuveitis with bilateral multifocal exudative retinal detachment. Results of multimodal imaging were consistent with the diagnosis of acute VKH disease. Given the history of positive bartonellosis serology, the patient was treated with doxycycline (200 mg/day) for 6 weeks in association with intravenous methylprednisolone for 5 days followed by oral steroids and progressive tapering. At three‐month follow‐up, BCVA improved to 20/20 in both eyes associated with resolution of clinical and structural OCT changes. Conclusions: Our case suggests that bartonella henselae infection might be a non‐previously reported infectious trigger of VKH disease in genetically predisposed patients. Alternatively, bartonella henselae infection might manifest with panuveitis mimicking VKH disease.