Acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinopathy mimicking central serous chorioretinopathy: A case report

A 51-year-old man had experienced declining visual acuity for 4 months. His best-corrected visual acuity was 20/40 in both eyes. Ophthalmoscopic examination showed a yellowish placoid lesion over the macular area, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) revealed subretinal fluid accumulation in the left eye, which resembled that seen with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). Three days later, fluorescein angiography (FA) revealed fluorescein leakage, and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) showed hypofluorescence over the lesion. Persistent ellipsoid zone loss as spontaneously resolved subretinal fluid was noted at the same time with SD-OCT. Laboratory examination disclosed positive rapid plasma reagin and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination tests (titer >1:1280), which confirmed the diagnosis of ocular syphilis. Acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinopathy (ASPPC) could mimic CSCR with spontaneously resolved subretinal fluid observed in SD-OCT images. The acute loss of the ellipsoid zone, mismatched results from SD-OCT and FA, and picture of retinitis can also provide hints for differentiating the two diseases.