TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

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SUDDEN VISUAL LOSS IN A YOUNG MAN

Keah Say Hien FRACGP
Elizabeth Medical Centre

Address for correspondence: Dr Keah Say Hien, Family Physician, Elizabeth Medical Centre, 1-14, Jalan Arab, 84000 Muar, Johor, Malaysia. Tel: 06-9535335, Fax: 06-9543100, Email: drkeah@hotmail.com

Keah SH. Test your knowledge: Sudden visual loss in a young man. Malaysian Family Physician. 2006;1(2&3):88-89

TYY , male, age 37 years, complained of sudden blurring of vision of the left eye for the past 2 weeks. He has no previous eye problem other than a little astigmatism as told by his optometrist. His wife described him as a healthy on-the-go type of person. He holds two jobs, one in JB and the other in Singapore. He has no past history of diabetes or hypertension.

On examination, he is normotensive. Visual acuity Rt 6/6 , Lt 6/18. The media was clear on ophthalmoscopy. He was unable to read the letters of a book using the left eye. However, when he was given the office magnifying glass, he was able to read every word in the page. His fundi are as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1. Left fundus (abnormal eye)

Figure 2. Right fundus (normal eye, for comparison)

QUESTIONS

1. What is the diagnosis?
2. How can you explain the clinical findings?
3. What advice do you give as a GP?

Click here for answer