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Updated: Aug 12, 2025

Multimodal Volumetric Retinal Imaging by Oblique Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy oSLO and Optical Coherence Tomography OCT
Published on: August 4, 2018
SUDDEN MONOCULAR VISION LOSS AFTER SNEEZING AS CAPTURED ON WIDEFIELD SWEPT SOURCE OPTICAL COHERENCE
Jade Y Moon1,2, Itika Garg2,3, John B Miller2,4
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Purpose:
We report an unusual case of likely combined retinal artery occlusion and retinal vein occlusion after a sneeze. Widefield swept-source optical coherence tomography-angiography was used to analyze retinal changes at one-month follow-up.
Methods:
The patient reported visual symptoms in his left eye immediately after sneezing five times in a row. Fundus examination showed an embolus along the superior arcade. Stroke workup revealed moderate carotid artery stenosis and a subtherapeutic INR. At one-month follow-up, fundus photography and swept-source optical coherence tomography-angiography were obtained.
Results:
Fundus photography showed superior retinal whitening and arteriole attenuation, an inferior perifoveal cotton wool spot, and inferotemporal intraretinal hemorrhages. Swept-source optical coherence tomography-angiography showed loss of the deep capillary plexus superiorly and inferotemporally, most consistent with combined retinal artery and retinal vein occlusion.
Conclusion:
We report the first case of sneeze-induced combined retinal artery and retinal vein occlusion. The retina is a uniquely accessible window that provides insight into human physiology, and swept-source optical coherence tomography-angiography is a powerful tool that can give further insight into the pathophysiology of an occlusion.
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