Cotton Wool Spots in Giant Cell Arteritis

Update Item Information
Identifier EEC_Giant_cell_arteritis_CWS
Title Cotton Wool Spots in Giant Cell Arteritis
Creator Rahul A. Sharma, MD, MPH; Valérie Biousse, MD
Affiliation (RAS) Neuro-ophthalmology Fellow, Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; (VB) Cyrus H. Stoner Professor of Ophthalmology, Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology, Departments of Ophthalmology and Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Subject Hypertension; Disc Edema; Occipital Lobe Hemorrhage
Description This is a case of cotton wool spots in a patient with temporal artery-biopsy proven temporal arteritis.; ; A 66-year-old woman presents with isolated painless vision loss related to a left optic neuropathy in her left eye. She denies systemic symptoms to suggest giant cell arteritis.; Her examination shows: visual acuity: 20/20 OD, 20/40 OS, pupils: 1+ left RAPD, color vision: 14/14 OU correct Ishihara plates. She has the following bloodwork: erythrocyte sedimentation rate 47 mm/hr (normal 1-30), c-reactive protein 2.79 mg/L (normal < 8), platelets 329 (normal 150-450). A MRI brain with and without contrast was normal.; The patient's vision loss was attributed to a posterior ischemic optic neuropathy of the left eye. The presence of cotton wool spots and ischemic optic neuropathy in an elderly patient raised concern for giant cell arteritis. A left temporal artery biopsy was positive for giant cell arteritis. The patient was treated with corticosteroids. Color fundus photographs taken following treatment showed resolution of her peripapillary cotton wool spots.
Date 2020-04
Language eng
Format application/pdf
Format Creation Microsoft PowerPoint
Type Text
Collection Neuro-Ophthalmology Virtual Education Library: The Emory Eye Center Collection: https://novel.utah.edu/eec/
Publisher North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society
Holding Institution Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah
Rights Management Copyright 2002. For further information regarding the rights to this collection, please visit: https://NOVEL.utah.edu/about/copyright
ARK ark:/87278/s6839119
Setname ehsl_novel_eec
ID 1535214
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6839119
Back to Search Results