CASE REPORT
Occlusive retinal vasculitis following intravitreal brolucizumab for wet age-related macular degeneration
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Military Institute of Medicine – National Research Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Poland
Submission date: 2024-08-25
Final revision date: 2024-10-20
Acceptance date: 2024-10-21
Publication date: 2025-06-30
Corresponding author
Małgorzata Figurska
Wojskowy Instytut Medyczny – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Klinika Okulistyki, ul. Szaserów 128, 04-141, Warsaw, Polska
LW 2025;103(2):138-146
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ABSTRACT
Brolucizumab is a humanized single-chain fragment of a monoclonal antibody that blocks vascular endothelial growth factors. The aim of this paper is to present a case of occlusive retinal vasculitis with intraocular inflammation following intravitreal administration of brolucizumab in a patient with wet age-related macular degeneration. An 84-year-old woman complained of decreased visual acuity in the right eye and floaters in the visual field. These symptoms occurred 54 days after the first intravitreal injection of 6 mg brolucizumab. Snellen visual acuity decreased from the pre-injection level of 0.6 to 0.05. An intraocular inflammatory reaction was detected. Ophthalmoscopy of the right eye revealed oedema of the optic nerve disc, pale foci of ischemia in the form of “cotton wool spots”, retinal haemorrhages, and perivascular sheathing of retinal arteries with their multifocal complete or partial occlusion. Based on the clinical picture and diagnostic tests, the patient was diagnosed with occlusive retinal vasculitis with intraocular inflammation as a complication of intravitreal brolucizumab. Treatment included local and systemic steroid therapy. Right eye visual acuity improved reaching 0.4. A secondary sectoral reduction in the thickness of the nerve fibre layer of the right eye was found, with visual field defect. Conclusions. Early diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment as soon as possible can prevent severe vision loss in most cases of rare vascular inflammatory complication after intravitreal brolucizumab. However, ischemia associated with vasculitis may cause permanent changes in the morphology of retinal nerve fibres and lead to visual field deficits.