[Purtscher's retinopathy with a favorable outcome after corticosteroids: case report]

Purtscher's retinopathy is a retinal vasculopathy most commonly caused by head or chest trauma. The most frequent signs include multiple areas of white ischemic infarcts and hemorrhages located in the posterior pole. Visual outcome in Purtscher's retinopathy is variable and there is no well defined treatment. We report a 8 year old child with sudden blurred vision in the right eye after head trauma. Ophthalmoscopy revealed multiple whitish patches and retinal hemorrhages predominant in the posterior pole. Megadoses of steroids were given with good visual response in the first three weeks, and child's vision recovered completely after four months despite initial severe symptomatology.