title: Retinal hemorrhages as one of complications of optic disc drusen during pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Drusen of the optic nerve head are relatively benign and asymptomatic. They represent retinal hyaline corpuscles resulting from impaired axoplasmic transport of the retinal ganglion cells of optic nerve in front of the lamina cribrosa. They are usually detected accidentally, during a routine ophthalmologic examination. Most patients with optic disc drusen are not aware of the deterioration of their eyesight because of the slow progression of visual field defects. Damage in visual acuity due to optic disc drusen is rare.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 27-year-old female patient in the sixth month of pregnancy visited an ophthalmologist because of a visual impairment described as the appearance of mist and shadows over her right eye. When first examined, her visual acuity in both eyes was 20/20. The retinal hemorrhages framing the bottom half of the optic nerve were seen. Complete laboratory and clinical testing as well as specific ophthalmic examinations (photofundus, computerized visual field, optical coherence tomography, and ultrasound) were performed to exclude systemic causes and they presented no risk for the pregnancy. Echosonographic examination confirmed the presence of bilateral optic nerve head drusen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hemodynamic changes during pregnancy are possible factors for the development of optical disc and retinal hemorrhages. Since treatment of optic disc drusen is limited, recognition of optic nerve drusen as a cause of hemorrhage during pregnancy prevents unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
authors.forename: Marija Trenkić
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Bozinović
authors.forename: Predrag
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jovanović
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zlatanović
authors.forename: Dragan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Veselinović
authors.forename: Aleksandra Aracki
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Trenkić
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trenkić
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015594:Optic Disk Drusen / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods; D012166:Retinal Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields