A Case of Branch Retinal Artery Occlusion Associated with Takayasu's Arteritis

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Takayasu's arteritis generally involves the aorta and its main branch. Various ocular manifestations associated with Takayasu's arteritis have been reported, but branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) is very rare. We report a case of BRAO associated with Takayasu's arteritis. CASE SUMMARY: 53-year-old female patient visited out emergency room for an inferior visual field defect of the right eye that had presented 2 hours earlier. Visual acuity was 1.0 in both eyes. There were no abnormalities of the anterior segment or pupil reflex. On fundus examination, superior retinal whitening was observed in her right eye. Through ancillary study including optical coherence tomography and fluorescein angiography, she was diagnosed with BRAO and underwent conservative treatments. She had received previous treatment and had been followed-up for Takayasu's arteritis for 20 years. She complained of general weakness, and body temperature was 38.7℃. On blood analysis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were increased compared to previous levels. She was medically treated on the assumption of relapse of Takayasu's arteritis. After 3 months, the retinal whitening in her right eye was resolved, but the visual field defect remained similar to that at the initial visit. CONCLUSIONS: We report this rare case of BRAO associated with Takayasu's arteritis, indicating the need to consider an association between the two diseases.