Acute ocular myositis occurring under etanercept for rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Ocular myositis is a rare disorder characterized by inflammation of single or multiple extra-ocular eye muscles presenting with painful diplopia and/or ophthalmoplegia. The etiology remains obscure and it is rarely associated with rheumatoid arthritis. We here reported the case of a 61-year-old woman treated by TNF-α blockade, namely etanercept, for rheumatoid arthritis for ten years who developed an acute ocular myositis. The patient improved after etanercept was stopped and initiation of high doses of corticosteroids. To our knowledge, this is the second report of ocular myositis occurring under TNF-α blockade treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Keywords: Etanercept; Ocular myositis; Rheumatoid arthritis; TNF-α blocker.