[Transitory eye pain during sleep]

Transitory eye pain occurred during sleep in a 62 year-old patient, who complained of being often awoken during the second half of the night. Diurnal ophthalmologic examinations did not reveal any abnormality. Three consecutive nocturnal polysomnographic recordings were performed to determine whether these pain crises were related to any sleep stage. The patient woke up three times during the recordings because of the usual pain occurrence. On the three occasions, the crisis occurred during of immediately after a REM sleep phase. The brievity of the pain episode (4 to 5 min) did not allow a quick eye pressure measurement to demonstrate a possible increase in ocular tension. However, the role of the REM sleep myosis and vegetative manifestations are discussed regarding the determination of eye pain.