Roth spots: A window to underlying systemic conditions

Visceral leishmaniasis with Roth spots

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani and transmitted by the bite of infected sandfly Phlebotomus argentipes. The protozoa is obliged intracellularly and causes a wide spectrum of clinical syndromes: VL ('kala azar'), cutaneous leishmaniasis and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (espundia). Kala azar is the most aggressive form and if untreated causes hig...

Roth spots in chronic myelogenous leukemia.

E1352 CMAJ, December 13, 2011, 183(18) © 2011 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors A39-year-old woman presented with a history of headache and visual complaints including bright flashes of light, white “moth-like” areas and black spots throughout the field of vision in her right eye that had been ongoing for one to two months. In the days leading up to her presentation, her symptoms ha...

Roth spots in native valve endocarditis.

A 48-year-old man presented with a 3-day history of a gray spot within the central vision of his right eye and of retinal hemorrhages. Mitral valve prolapse was reported, and review of systems revealed a 35-pound weight loss, nonproductive cough, and recurrent fevers during the 3 months prior to evaluation. Physical examination revealed corrected visual acuity of 20/20 OU, an auscultated diasto...

Bilateral Macular Roth Spots as a Manifestation of Subacute Endocarditis.

A 42-year-old man presented with a 2-day history of impaired vision in the right eye (OD). The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (LogMAR) was 1.1 for the right eye and 0.0 for the left eye (OS). Fundus examination revealed white-centered hemorrhages resembling Roth spots in both macular regions. The spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) showed intraretinal pseudocysts and hype...

Anti-S Alloantibody Underlying Pan Agglutinating Autoantibody in a Patient of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus