Acute unilateral visual loss due to a single intranasal methamphetamine abuse

An otherwise healthy 35 year old male with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) presented himself three days after a single intranasal methamphetamine abusus. Directly upon awakening the day after the recreational use of this drug, he discovered an acute and severe visual loss of his right eye. This unilateral loss of vision was permanent and eventually lead to a pale and atrophic optic nerve head. The characteristics of this visual loss, together with the aspect of the optic nerve head was very similar to the classical non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). We suggest a direct ischemic episode to the short posterior ciliary arteries due to this single intranasal abuse of methamphetamine as the underlying pathogenesis of this acute and permanent visual loss.