title: Bilateral central retinal artery occlusion and vein occlusion complicated by severe choroidopathy in systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Severe retinal vascular occlusions resulting in blindness is a rare occurrence in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Herein, we report a case of a 33-year-old female who developed combined central retinal artery occlusion, retinal vein occlusion, and choroidopathy and rapidly became completely blind in both eyes within a week. The electroretinogram revealed a severely attenuated a-wave and b-wave, indicating a profound dysfunction of both choroidal and retinal circulation, respectively. The current case demonstrates objectively the functional impact of severe choroidopathy in SLE for the first time. Patients with unilateral blindness due to combined retinal/choroidal vascular obstructions should be monitored carefully to ensure adequate anticoagulant therapy in an attempt to guard the vision in the fellow eye.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Nishiguchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Terasaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001766:Blindness / Q000209:etiology*; D015862:Choroid Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications*; D015356:Retinal Artery Occlusion / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Systemic lupus erythematosus; antiphospholipid syndrome; central artery occlusion; central retinal vein occlusion; vasculitis