Toxoplasma gondii retinochoroiditis after liver transplantation.

Abstract

A 48-year-old woman with a previous a liver transplant and a cataract extraction developed a necrotizing retinochoroiditis in her right eye. Vitreous and serum cultures failed to yield a causative organism. As the retinochoroiditis progressed, visual acuity worsened to the point of no light perception, and the eye became blind and painful. An enucleation was performed and histologic examination showed Toxoplasma gondii necrotizing retinochoroiditis. This is the first histologically documented case of T. gondii retinochoroiditis after liver transplantation. The fulminant clinicopathologic appearance of the retinochoroiditis is similar to that previously reported to occur in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other forms of immunosuppression, unlike the reactivated congenital retinochoroiditis that occurs in immunocompetent patients.