Combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion associated with antiphospholipid syndrome

Abstract

A female patient in early 50s presented to us several months after developing severe visual loss in her right eye. The patient was diagnosed with resolved central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) based on the clinical picture at the time of presentation, however, retroactive evaluation of fundus imaging and further multi-disciplinary workup led to the rare diagnosis of combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion associated with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Only a few cases reporting retinal arterial and venous occlusions in patients with APS are found in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, no case of simultaneous CRAO and CRVO has been reported with APS. The patient was started on lifelong warfarin therapy to prevent a similar episode in the left eye. It is important to properly evaluate patients presenting with retinal vascular occlusions, as a missed diagnosis of APS can lead to recurrent and more devastating vascular events.