Retinal artery occlusion: visual outcome after treatment with hyperbaric oxygen.

METHODS

We describe a case series of 11 patients with retinal artery occlusion treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) at Intermountain Dixie Regional Medical Center between 2005 and 2009. We then combined data from our case series with data from two other case series to report on a combined total of 51 patients.

RESULTS

Eight of our 11 patients achieved improved visual acuity. Analysis of the combined case series showed that 74 % of patients treated with HBOT had improvement in visual acuity (P < 0.0001) with 53 % improving two lines or more on a modified Snellen value. The combined case series also showed that visual acuity improved in all time-from-occlusion to treatment categories, ranging from less than 8 hours to six days.

CONCLUSIONS

We recommend consideration of HBOT for patients who present with recent retinal artery occlusion. Hyperbaric centres treating these patients should consider forming a central registry of standardised data to prospectively study the results of therapy.