Retinal vascular occlusive disease and tilt-table inversion

Abstract

PK is a 58-year-old female with an unremarkable past medical history other than hanging inverted 180 degrees in a tilt-table for 1-3 minutes several times in the two weeks before her examination who presented for a routine follow-up eye examination with no visual complaints. On dilated fundoscopic examination, she was found to have a central retinal vein occlusion in her right eye. A retinal consultation determined her vein occlusion was non-ischemic without macular edema and no further treatment was required. While most cases of central retinal vein occlusion can be attributed to common systemic factors, in cases where no risk factors are present it is important to ask patients whether they are regularly performing activities where they are inverting themselves 180 degrees or any activities causing rapid fluctuations in intraocular pressure and blood pressure within the central retinal artery.