You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Case report
Hemi-central retinal vein occlusion as a rare manifestation of the hypercoagulable state in COVID-19
  1. Jose R Russe-Russe1,
  2. Alejandro Alvarez-Betancourt1,
  3. Amanda Milburn2 and
  4. Prachi Anand3
  1. 1Internal Medicine, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, New York, USA
  2. 2College of Osteopathic Medicine, NYIT, Old Westbury, New York, USA
  3. 3Internal Medicine/Rheumatology, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, New York, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Jose R Russe-Russe; joseramonrusserusse{at}gmail.com

Abstract

To date, COVID-19 has no definite effective targeted therapy, and management is primarily supportive. Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is frequently caused by systemic risk factors posing hypercoagulable states. In April 2020, a female patient with a history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease presented with 2 days of loose, watery stools, nasal congestion and severe lethargy. The patient denied dyspnoea or fever. A week after the initial symptoms, the patient reported decreased vision from the left eye. Dilated funduscopy and fluorescein angiography suggested hemi-CRVO. The patient refused intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor agents because of non-severe visual loss. Testing was positive for COVID-19 IgG antibodies; reverse transcription PCR was not available. Vision improved within 3 weeks of presentation. We recommend that clinicians keep a high suspicion for acute onset of thrombotic events in patients with COVID-19 and thrombotic predisposing risk factors.

  • COVID-19
  • retina
  • venous thromboembolism

This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2021-246428

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Contributors JRR-R, AA-B and AM were responsible for the planning, conducting and reporting of the majority of the work described in the article. PA contributed key points to the article and served as the scientific advisor by critically reviewing the study proposal from the beginning to the end. JRR-R and AA-B contributed equally to this paper and are responsible for the overall content as guarantors.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.