Diagnosis of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion in the Emergency Department Using POCUS: A Case Series.

Introduction

Central Retinal Artery Occlusion is a cause of vision loss that warrants emergent evaluation. Ocular Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) is a non-invasive, inexpensive, and rapid modality to establish diagnosis with reduced time to consultation and treatment.

Methods

This was a retrospective case series of patients evaluated at seven hospitals with diagnosis of CRAO over a two-year period. All patients underwent ocular POCUS performed by an emergency medicine clinician.

Results

Nine patients were evaluated with mean vision loss of 21 hours. Overall, 88% of patients were diagnosed with CRAO, 75% possessing US confirmed retrobulbar spot sign (RBBS), and 38% confirmed diagnosis with fundoscopy.

Conclusion

Ocular POCUS is an examination all emergency medicine clinicians should be able to perform. A rapid diagnosis of CRAO provides opportunity for vision improvement with initiation of treatment. The lack of guidelines for treatment of CRAO represents an opportunity for a multi-speciality collaboration to develop a diagnostic and treatment algorithm.