Parietal and bi-occipital lobe infarction confounded by ethanol-induced optic neuropathy

A frequent occurrence in geriatric and chronically ill patients is the exhibition of several simultaneously occurring and confounding health problems. This paper reports the case of a 61-year-old-white male who presented with an extensive history of multiple brain infarcts, hemiparesis, personality changes and varied visual complaints. Tests in the neurooptometric work-up for this patient included static automated perimetry, stereoacuity and optokinetic nystagmus evaluation. The results were suggestive of multiple cerebrovascular accidents which included the right and left occipital lobes as well as the right parietal lobe. This clinical picture was complicated by the presence of nutritional or ethanol-induced optic neuropathy. Emphasis was placed on a detailed sequential history of events and a complete neurological and optometric evaluation to ascertain the multiple foci of cortical infarction. Corroboration of clinical findings was obtained by computerized axial tomography (CT scan).