Nodular anterior scleritis associated with Berger’s disease

Abstract

A 45-year-old female patient presented with a complaint of right eye redness and pain for 7 days. She was under investigation for urinary abnormalities and reported a previous history of recurrent oral ulcers and ocular hyperemia in both eyes. Best-corrected visual acuity was 20/30 and 20/20 in the right and left eyes, respectively. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy of the ocular surface of the right eye revealed nasal scleral hyperemia that persisted after instillation of topical phenylephrine 10%, reinforcing the diagnosis of anterior scleritis. Renal biopsy showed immunoglobulin A immune complexes and confirmed the suspected diagnosis of Berger’s disease. Maintenance immunosuppressive therapy with azathioprine following a 6-month induction of remission with cyclophosphamide was necessary after pulse therapy with methylprednisolone. Scleritis is usually related to systemic autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and polyangiitis. Herein, we describe a rare case of unilateral anterior scleritis associated with Berger’s disease.