Bilateral acute retinal necrosis--a case report.

A 42 year old man presented with acute bilateral uveitis and necrotizing retinitis. Systemic investigations including test for AIDS and CMV retinitis were negative. Despite oral Acyclovir, both eyes progressed rapidly to retinal detachment with loss of vision. Early recognition is necessary to diagnose the bilateral acute retinal necrosis syndrome and initiate treatment. Bilateral acute retinal necrosis (BARN) is a term first coined by Young and Bird in 1978 although the syndrome had been originally described by Urayama et al as an unilateral condition. This syndrome is characterized by the triad of acute confluent peripheral necrotizing retinitis, moderate to severe vasculitis and vitritis in an otherwise healthy individual. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment occurs within two to three months of the onset of the disease and the second eye is involved in 36% of patients, usually within 6 weeks. We herein report a patient who presented with simultaneous BARN leading to retinal detachment in a matter of days. Also, to our knowledge this is the first report of this condition in India.