Bitemporal peripapillary hemorrhages: Toxic-ischemic optic neuropathy caused by ethanol and cocaine abuse

Abstract

A 36-year-old man presented complaining of bilateral painless vision loss. He was admitted with chronic ethanol abuse, as well as sporadic cocaine consumption three days before symptom onset. General medical evaluation dismissed cerebral and cardiovascular events. Blood tests revealed folic acid deficiency. Visual acuity (VA) was count fingers in both eyes (OU). Fundoscopic findings included remarkable bitemporal peripapillary hemorrhages. A diagnosis of toxic-ischemic optic neuropathy was made. The hemorrhages resolved after three weeks, with VA recovering to 20/20 OU. The sequelae included bitemporal peripapillary retinal fiber loss on optical coherence tomography, and central scotomas observed on visual field tests. This is the first report of cocaine as a triggering agent for a classical presentation of toxic optic neuropathy and the presence of peripapillary hemorrhages in its initial stages.

Keywords

• Toxic optic neuropathy
• Peripapillary hemorrhages
• Drugs abuse
• Nutritional deficiency