Purtscher's retinopathy is an injury to the retina, usually caused by trauma to the head or other types of blows to the body, although its exact cause remains unclear. Other conditions, such as acute pancreatitis, kidney failure, childbirth or autoimmune diseases can also cause this change, however, in these cases, it is called Purtscher- like retinopathy.
This retinopathy causes decreased vision that can be mild to severe, and appear in one or both eyes, the suspicion being confirmed by the ophthalmologist's evaluation. In general, the main way to treat vision loss is to treat the causative disease in the hospital, however, vision cannot always be fully recovered.
Main symptoms
The main symptom that indicates Purtscher's retinopathy is loss of vision, which is painless, and occurs in one or both eyes. The reduction in visual capacity is variable, ranging from mild and transient to permanent total blindness.
This disease can be suspected whenever vision loss occurs after an accident or some serious systemic disease, and must be confirmed by the ophthalmologist's evaluation, who will perform the fundus examination and, if necessary, request additional tests such as angiography, optical tomography or visual field evaluation. Learn more about when the fundus exam is indicated and the changes it can detect.
What are the causes
The main causes of Purtscher's retinopathy are:
- Cranioencephalic trauma; Other serious injuries, such as chest or long bone fractures; Acute pancreatitis; Renal failure; Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, PTT, scleroderma or dermatomyositis, for example; Amniotic fluid embolism; Pulmonary embolism.
Although the exact cause of what leads to the development of Purtscher's retinopathy is not known, it is known that these diseases cause intense inflammation in the body and reactions in the bloodstream, which cause microlesions in the retinal blood vessels.
How the treatment is done
Purtscher's retinopathy is treated with the treatment of the disease or injury that triggered these changes, since there is no specific ophthalmological treatment. Some doctors may use corticosteroids, such as oral Triamcinolone, as a way to try to control the inflammatory process.
The recovery of vision is not always possible, occurring only in some cases, so it is very important that the treatment is started as soon as possible, in order to try to affect the vision as little as possible.
