Purtscher Retinopathy

Purtscher’s retinopathy is a hemorrhagic and vaso-occlusive vasculopathy. It usually follows severe compression injury to the head or trunk.

It is characterized by the presence of multiple patches of superficial retinal whitening and retinal hemorrhages surrounding the optic nerve head that are associated with severe loss of vision.

The pathogenesis of Purtscher’s syndrome is unclear but it is possibly due to complement induced leukocyte aggregation and leukoembolism.

Purtscher-like retinopathy is seen in diverse conditions, including acute pancreatitis, fat embolization, amniotic fluid embolization, preeclampsia, HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets) syndrome, and vasculitic diseases such as lupus.