Progressive outer retinal necrosis and acute retinal necrosis in fellow eyes of a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

PURPOSE: To describe an unusual concurrence of acute retinal necrosis and progressive outer retinal necrosis in fellow eyes of a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

METHODS: Interventional case report. In a 37-year-old man with AIDS and herpes zoster keratitis in the right eye, progressive outer retinal necrosis developed in the right eye and acute retinal necrosis developed in the left eye.

RESULTS: Disparate presentations of retinitis persisted in each eye, and retinal detachment and vision loss ensued in both eyes despite antiviral therapy.

CONCLUSION: Distinct features of acute retinal necrosis and progressive outer retinal necrosis do not necessarily reflect systemic factors, and they may be variant manifestations of the same underlying infection.