Recurrent Branch Retinal Artery Occlusions Revealing Susac’s Syndrome

ABSTRACT

We report a case of a 28-year-old otherwise healthy female patient who presented with blurred vision in her right eye related to multiple branch retinal artery occlusions confirmed by fluorescein angiography. Investigation revealed positive antinuclear antibodies and an interatrial septal aneurysm on transthoracic echocardiography. The patient was treated with oral prednisolone and aspirin. Two months after her initial presentation, she developed hearing loss and tinnitus. Ophthalmological examination revealed temporal inferior and nasal inferior branch retinal artery occlusions in the left eye. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed multifocal T2 hyperintense lesions in cortical and subcortical areas as well as the corpus callosum consistent with Susac’s syndrome. The diagnosis of Susac’s syndrome should be kept in mind in young patients presenting with multiple or recurrent retinal artery occlusions even in the absence of associated systemic symptoms to not delay appropriate management.

KEYWORDS:

• Susac’s syndrome
• branch retinal artery occlusion
• immunosuppressive therapy

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.