A case of Purtscher's retinopathy.
This article describes a case of Purtscher's retinopathy, a syndrome believed to be caused by microembolic infarction of the retina, in a 20-year-old man after remote extraocular trauma. The patient jumped from a 20-meter high building. He suffered multiple crush injuries, but a computed tomographic scan of the brain and orbit was normal. More than 1 month after injury, his visual acuity diminished to light perception in the right eye and counting fingers in the left. The ophthalmoscopic picture was characteristic of Purtscher's retinopathy with cotton-wool exudates and retinal hemorrhages localized to the posterior pole. His vision was improved only slightly 6 months later. Although rare, emergency physicians should be familiar with this entity as a cause of diminished vision associated with extraocular trauma.
Shibata
K
K
Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Japan.
Furuki
I
I
Saitoh
Y
Y
Mochizuki
K
K
Tanabe
J
J
D000328:Adult; D004617:Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007238:Infarction; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000150:complications*; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D012166:Retinal Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D012171:Retinal Vessels; D013577:Syndrome; D014792:Visual Acuity