Ink blot leakage in central retinal artery occlusion

To describe a typical case of acute central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) with an ink-blot pattern of hyperfluorescent leak on fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA).

A 21-year-old woman came to the clinic with one day of painless right eye vision loss. Her right eye had finger counting at ½ meter. Her right eye had a relative afferent pupillary defect, but her anterior segment and intraocular pressure of both eyes were normal.

The right eye fundus showed signs of acute CRAO with severe grade on optical coherence tomography (OCT). FFA imaging showed a mid-phase hyperfluorescent leak that persisted until the late stage. OCT scan through the hyperfluorescent spot showed absence of neurosensory detachment with normal retinal pigment epithelium, ruling out a central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). Ocular massage and anterior chamber paracentesis were performed. At the 10-day follow-up, the patient's visual acuity was counting fingers at ½ meter, and the OCT scan showed findings of CRAO chronicity. The hyperfluorescent spot disappeared on the subsequent FFA.

We report a case of ink-blot leakage on FFA, similar to that observed in CSCR in an eye with acute CRAO. We propose that the hyperfluorescent spot in our acute CRAO was likely caused by red blood cell aggregation or rouleaux formation.