Hypertensive crisis with massive retinal and choroidal infarction: A case update

We report an update on a recently published case of uncontrolled hypertension secondary to immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy resulting in massive bilateral retinal and choroidal infarction.

In our previous report, we presented a 30-year old female with end-stage renal disease who complained of painless vision loss after many missed hemodialysis. The patient was found to be in hypertensive crisis resulting in massive retinal and choroidal infarction with severe vision loss in both eyes. The patient was treated with pan-retinal photocoagulation (PRP) with intravitreal Bevacizumab and was subsequently lost to follow-up. In this update, we report the complications that followed. After many months, she presented to clinic with a blind painful right eye. She was found to have a further decrease in vision with neovascular glaucoma in the right eye and a tractional retinal detachment in the left eye. The patient ultimately elected for enucleation of her right eye. Immunohistopathology revealed IgA deposition, confirming the presumed diagnosis of IgA nephropathy, previously unconfirmable through renal biopsy.

There is a strong association between severity of retinopathy and level of kidney function. Although a rare presentation, hypertensive retinopathy is a common complication of end-stage renal disease and can be a devastating process as emphasized by this report. Those with auto-immune renal disease, such as IgA nephropathy, are at higher risk for retino-choroidal complications. It should remind all ophthalmologists and clinicians on the necessity of closer eye examinations for these patients, particularly for those with auto-immune renal disease.