A 71-year-old man with bilateral vision loss

Abstract

A 71-year-old white man presented to an outside hospital with acute bilateral vision loss of 1 week’s duration. Five days prior to presentation he had been diagnosed with anterior uveitis by his primary ophthalmologist and was started on prednisolone acetate 1% and atropine eye drops. He reported a remote history of acute vision loss in the setting of a sinus infection with recovery of his vision following treatment of the infection. The patient’s symptoms did not improve, and he was transferred to a tertiary care facility for additional workup. On further questioning, the patient endorsed new-onset headache of 2-3 weeks’ duration, severe pain with chewing, scalp pain, and weight loss. He denied recent eye or head trauma. He denied recent illness, fevers, chills, night sweats, cough, and shortness of breath. He denied recent alcohol or drug use, and he denied any history of sexually transmitted diseases.