| Title: |
Central Retinal Artery Occlusion Diagnosed via Ocular Point-of-care Ultrasound: Case Report |
| Authors: |
Kofman, Rochelle; Smartt, Addison; Myles, Reginald Jerome; Kishi, Patrick; Rappaport, Douglas; Drechsel, Kevin |
| Source: |
Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine, vol 0, iss 0 |
| Publisher Information: |
eScholarship, University of California |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Collection: |
University of California: eScholarship |
| Subject Terms: |
Point of Care Ultrasound; Central retinal artery occlusion; retrobulbar spot sign; cardioembolic stroke; case report |
| Description: |
Introduction:Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a neurological and ophthalmologicemergency that presents as sudden, painless, monocular vision loss. Central retinal artery occlusioncan be classified as arteritic or non-arteritic. Most cases of non-arteritic CRAO are due to embolism,commonly from atherosclerosis of the ipsilateral carotid artery. More proximal sources of embolismare uncommon but can occur. Prompt recognition of CRAO is critical for vision preservation therapyand initiation of ischemic stroke diagnosis protocols. Case Report: We present the case of a 66-year-old female who presented to the emergency department eight hours after sudden, painless, monocular vision loss. Her past medical history included type II diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. She had previously undergone bilateral lens replacement for cataracts three years prior and had a history of intermittent floaters, which had been worsening over the previous six months. She denied any associated pain, headache, speech difficulty, focal weakness, and ocular trauma. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the affected eye revealed the presence of a retrobulbar spot sign, which is associated with CRAO with a non-arteriticembolic etiology. Conclusion:Point-of-care ultrasound is an efficient diagnostic tool for the assessment of acute,painless, monocular vision loss. The presence of a retrobulbar spot sign indicates central retinalartery occlusion, providing both diagnostic and prognostic information.Although not a definitivediagnostic tool, POCUS can expedite treatment for patients with central retinal artery occlusion, adiagnosis with a time-sensitive treatment window. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
unknown |
| Relation: |
qt5wv73358; https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5wv73358; https://escholarship.org/content/qt5wv73358/qt5wv73358.pdf |
| DOI: |
10.5811/cpcem.50741 |
| Availability: |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5wv73358; https://escholarship.org/content/qt5wv73358/qt5wv73358.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5811/cpcem.50741 |
| Rights: |
CC-BY |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.46EE29BB |
| Database: |
BASE |