Unusual eye injury related to abusive head trauma

Abstract

AbstractOphthalmological examination is an essential component in clinically diagnosing abusive head trauma (AHT). Typical of AHT injuries is retinal bleeding, with other parts of the eye sometimes also being affected. Visual impairment and blindness are long-term complications in this context. We present a case with unusual eye injuries after a diagnostically confirmed AHT.The ophthalmological findings on admission day showed a massive subhyaloid hemorrhage at the posterior pole and extensive flame-shaped intraretinal hemorrhages accented on the right side., A centrally localized vitreous hemorrhage appeared on both sides 3 weeks later, obscuring the optic disc and macula most probably due to a breakthrough of a sub-internal limiting membrane (ILM) hemorrhage into the vitreous cavity. Follow-up 4 weeks later revealed a dense and organized vitreous hemorrhage occupying the optic disc and macula so that a pars plana vitrectomy was performed on both eyes.The bilateral bleeding in different retinal layers, the vitreous hemorrhage and the proliferative vitreoretinal reaction (PVR) indicated massive damage caused by a significant acceleration-deceleration trauma. A two-phase vitreous hemorrhage in a child with AHT does not yet appear to have been described in the literature.