Central retinal vein occlusion in a young patient with seropositive syphilis

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a common retinal vasculopathy typically affecting adults in the fifth to seventh decade of life. Systemic disease, particularly hypertension, is often a contributing factor in this sight-threatening condition. CRVO in young adults, however, is an uncommon occurrence with relatively few reported cases in the ophthalmic literature. Two studies performed on young adults (less than 40 years of age) presenting with CRVO revealed that, in most cases, there was not a strong correlation with hypertension or other systemic diseases. In more severe cases, namely those with poor visual outcome from the ischemic type of CRVO, there was a strong correlation with cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. Systemic inflammatory conditions represent a small contributing factor in patients presenting with CRVO. This paper reports on a 21-year-old female with non-ischemic CRVO who was serologically positive for syphilis.