A rare case of a combined retinal artery and vein occlusion in a young patient

Abstract

AbstractPurpose: To report a case of combined retinal artery and vein occlusion in a young patient.Methods: A case report.Results: A 37‐year‐old gentleman presented to the Emergency Department with a central scotoma in his right eye for 1 day. He was known to have right amblyopia but had no known past medical illness. He was a chronic smoker. Best corrected visual acuity was 6/45 in the right eye and 6/7.5 in the left eye. His intraocular pressure was 19 (right) and 18 (left) mmHg. Anterior segment examination was normal. His right eye fundus examination revealed retinal ischaemia and edema in the macula area supplied by cilioretinal artery. The inferotemporal vessels were also tortuous, with flame and dot haemorrhages. His left eye was normal. Optical coherence tomography showed inner retinal hyperreflectivity and edema. Fundus fluorescein angiography showed delayed filling of the cilioretinal artery and inferotemporal retinal vein corresponding to the clinical findings. He was diagnosed with a right eye combined cilioretinal artery and inferotemporal branch retinal vein occlusion. An anterior chamber tap was performed immediately to lower intraocular pressure and improve perfusion. The next day, he reported that his vision was clearer (visual acuity 6/20) and the scotoma was smaller in size. Given his young age, we performed a full systemic young‐stroke workup to evaluate his vascular risk factors and rule out thrombophilia. He was found to have newly diagnosed diabetes and hyperlipidemia. His coagulopathy screen was negative. A primary care referral was made for management of his chronic diseases and for smoking cessation support.Conclusions: Combined retinal and venous occlusions are rare and are often associated with significant systemic comorbidities. In a young, healthy patient, it is particularly important to perform detailed investigations to work up its cause, as this could be a harbinger of future ischaemic events.