Paraproteinaemic keratopathy simulating a crystalline keratopathy

TL;DR

A rare eye condition called paraproteinemic keratopathy was mistaken for a crystalline keratopathy, highlighting the need for careful diagnosis.

Contribution

The paper presents an atypical case of paraproteinemic keratopathy mimicking crystalline keratopathy, emphasizing its diagnostic importance.

Findings

The patient's condition initially resembled infectious crystalline keratopathy but was later linked to monoclonal gammopathy.

Early unilateral subepithelial deposits can be a sign of paraproteinemic keratopathy.

Hematological tests revealed high free Kappa light chains, supporting a paraproteinemic origin.

Abstract

Paraproteinemic keratopathy is a rare disorder characterized by the bilateral accumulation of polychromatic deposits diffusely in all corneal layers together or not with diffuse or patchy pseudo lipid deposits. We present an atypical case of paraproteinemic keratopathy which lead to an initial misdiagnosis of infectious crystalline keratopathy.

a 69-year-old woman with an asymptomatic keratopathy detected during a cataract intervention. Slit-lamp examination revealed several hyper refringent subepithelial foci with fern-shaped branches, resembling crystalline keratopathy, in her left eye. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography revealed exclusively subepithelial hyperreflective lesions limited to the anterior stroma. The progressive bilateralization and progression of the condition prompted us to include other entities with crystalline corneal deposits in our differential diagnosis. Hematological analysis showed a high number of free Kappa light chains. Despite the typical clinical appearance of crystalline keratopathy, the atypical evolution and test results led us to consider that monoclonal gammopathy could be the cause of this entity.

Paraproteinemic keratopathy may present in its early stages as a unilateral subepithelial crystalline keratopathy. Thus, it must always be taken into account in the differential diagnosis of any crystalline keratopathy, particularly when there are no predisposing factors for an infectious crystalline keratopathy. Early recognition of this rare entity is important to address the associated potentially serious systemic disease.

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