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Case Reports
. 2022 Oct;70(10):3710-3712.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1486_22.

Unilateral Purtscher-like retinopathy post-COVID-19

Affiliations
Case Reports

Unilateral Purtscher-like retinopathy post-COVID-19

Daraius Shroff et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

A 32-year-old male with no known systemic illness presented with unilateral Purtscher-like retinopathy in his left eye 2 weeks after recovering from a severe COVID-19 infection. Fundus examination revealed areas of intraretinal whitening and few cotton wool spots. Multimodal imaging findings were consistent with embolic occlusion of capillaries seen in Purtscher-like retinopathy. The case highlights the effect of virus-directed coagulation cascade activation leading to unilateral microvasculopathy in our patient. The case adds to the spectrum of COVID-19 retinopathy and presses that retina screening strategies should be established for patients suffering from or recovering from severe COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 retinopathy; Purtscher-like retinopathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Color photo cotton wool spots (CWS) and areas of ill-defined retinal whitening (arrows) located near the posterior pole. (b) 6 × 6 mm swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) superficial slab shows corresponding areas of dropped vessels and flow void areas (yellow arrow). (c) Structural En Face image reveals areas of retinal whitening on the posterior pole (arrow). (d) HD 51OCT scan showing areas of thickening and hyperreflectivity of the nerve fiber layer (NFL) (white arrow). (e) FFA showing areas of hypofluorescence (arrow). (f) HD 51 scan revealed decreased inner retinal edema and whitening on follow up

References

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