Unilateral Purtscher-like retinopathy post-COVID-19

Abstract

A 32-year-old male with no known systemic illness presented with unilateral Purtscher-like retinopathy in his left eye 2 weeks after recovering from a severe COVID-19 infection. Fundus examination revealed areas of intraretinal whitening and few cotton wool spots. Multimodal imaging findings were consistent with embolic occlusion of capillaries seen in Purtscher-like retinopathy. The case highlights the effect of virus-directed coagulation cascade activation leading to unilateral microvasculopathy in our patient. The case adds to the spectrum of COVID-19 retinopathy and presses that retina screening strategies should be established for patients suffering from or recovering from severe COVID-19 infection.

Keywords

• covid-19
• covid-19 retinopathy
• purtscher-like retinopathy