title: Purtscher-like retinopathy in acute alcoholic pancreatitis.
abstract: A 23-year-old man with a history of alcoholism presented with vomiting, fever, and sharp epigastric pain radiating to the back and flanks. He was diagnosed as a case of acute alcoholic pancreatitis on the basis of clinical findings and investigations. On the next day of presentation, he developed sudden bilateral visual loss. His best-corrected visual acuity was finger counting at one-foot distance in both eyes. He had diffuse whitening in the circumpapillary area, haloes around the retinal vessels (Purtscher flecken) and intra-retinal hemorrhages on ophthalmoscopic examination. Optical coherence tomography revealed bilateral macular edema. These findings were characteristic of Purtscher-like retinopathy. The patient showed systemic and visual improvement at 8 weeks follow-up after receiving the conventional treatment for acute alcoholic pancreatitis. This case emphasizes the importance of fundus examination by an ophthalmologist in the diagnosis of this rare under-diagnosed entity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Sri Aurobindo Medical College and PG Institute, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Nitin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nema
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Sri Aurobindo Medical College and PG Institute, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Saba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishrat
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Sri Aurobindo Medical College and PG Institute, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Abha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Sri Aurobindo Medical College and PG Institute, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Manoj
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kela
keywords: Cotton-wool spots; Purtscher flecken; optical coherence tomography