WHIPLASH MACULOPATHY: STRUCTURAL SEQUELAE AND THE CORRESPONDING VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, DOCUMENTED WITH OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY.
Julia Cañas-Martín, Catalina Esmerado, Antonia Sierra et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
A 55-year-old woman developed reduced vision in her left eye after a head-on collision. Examination showed subtle retinal pigment epithelium disruption; OCT demonstrated neurosensory detachment and intraretinal cysts. These findings largely resolved, and acuity improved from 20/40 to 20/25 within a week, while visual field testing showed a central scotoma. Although acuity and OCT nearly normalized by two months, infrared imaging showed a hyporeflective macular area corresponding to the field defect. Eight years later, the central scotoma persisted, with subtle outer retinal irregularity on OCT.
What made this case unusual
Near-normal visual acuity and OCT did not reflect full functional recovery: a central scotoma persisted for eight years, with infrared imaging showing a corresponding macular abnormality.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
After indirect ocular trauma, improving acuity and near-normal OCT do not exclude persistent central field loss; correlate structural imaging with visual field findings.