Disk and peripheral retinal neovascularization secondary to talc and cornstarch emboli

A 30-year-old man was examined because of blurred vision. The symptoms had occurred immediately after the patient had injected himself intravenously with crushed, unfiltered, methylphenidate HCl (Ritalin) tablets. Fine yellow-white crystals were scattered throughout the retin of both eyes. The crystals were presumed to be talc emboli. Disk and peripheral retinal neovascularization were present. Fluorescein angiography revealed widespread retinal capillary nonperfusion. This is the first reported case, to the best of my knowledge, of disk neovascularization occurring after intravenously injected, crushed, unfiltered, methylphenidate HCl tablets.