The sudden visual loss is a common complaint with variable clinical presentations among patients of different ages. Thus, it is important to be clear about the nature of the patient's symptoms as this will help to access through various differential diagnosis. The current article describes some of the differentials of unilateral vision loss that should be treated on the urgent basis. There are many conditions that need to be considered in the differential.
The immediate issue is identifying the urgent cases. Some of the differentials are listed below: Central retinal artery occlusion: It is rapid (in minutes), painless loss of vision in an older arteriopath (>50yrs). Fundoscopy shows markedly attenuated vessels, retinal pallor and a “cherry red spot” at the fovea. The column of blood in the retinal veins is seen broken into segments due to the poor/absent arterial flow.This condition…
