Unilateral visual impairment in a patient undergoing chemotherapy: a case report and clinical findings

BACKGROUND: Visual impairment occurred as an infrequent form of chemotherapeutic toxicity and was often underestimated despite of several reports. We described a case of acute unilateral visual impairment after one cycle of intravenous chemotherapy of a normal dose, aiming at raising attention to chemotherapy-induced ocular toxicity. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient developed a progressive vision loss in the right eye during the chemotherapy. After one cycle of intravenous chemotherapy, her visual acuity decreased by 0.6 in the right eye (VOD = 0.4) compared to the previous value of 1.0 (VOD = 1.0). No evidence of ocular infiltration was observed from the cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). During her follow-up period, we documented the ophthalmologic examinations including visual acuity, visual field (VF), visual evoked potential (VEP), electroretinogram (ERG), fundus photograph (FP), fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Ophthalmoscope examination and fundus photograph showed optic disc edema, fuzzy boundary and linear hemorrhages in her right eye. Fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) revealed capillary underdevelopment at the nasal and superior temporal area of the optic disc in the early phase and capillary fluorescein leakage in the late phase. The result of VEP test suggested the impaired function of the optic nerve. Thus, a diagnosis of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) was made by the ophthalmologist according to these results. The patient was prescribed prednisone combined with neuroprotective drugs, which did not work. After the cessation of chemotherapy, her impaired vision gradually recovered. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported case of acute visual impairment in a patient who underwent chemotherapy of a normal dose. It is indicated that while receiving benefits from chemotherapy, cancer patients simultaneously suffer from the risk of vision loss.