Transient cortical blindness after coronary angiography.

Abstract

Transient cortical blindness is rarely encountered after angiography of native coronary arteries or bypass grafts. This paper reports a case of transient cortical blindness that occurred 72 h after coronary angiography in a 56-year old patient. This was the patient's fourth exposure to contrast medium. Neurological examination demonstrated cortical blindness and the absence of any focal neurological deficit. A non-contrast-enhanced computed tomographic scan of the brain revealed bilateral contrast enhancement in the occipital lobes and no evidence of cerebral haemorrhage, and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed no pathology. Sight returned spontaneously within 4 days and his vision gradually improved. A search of the current literature for reported cases of transient cortical blindness suggested that this is a rarely encountered complication of coronary angiography.

• Authors: B N Alp, N Bozbuğa, M A Tuncer, C Yakut
• Journal: The Journal of international medical research (J Int Med Res) Vol. 37 Issue 4 Pg. 1246-51 ( 2009) ISSN: 0300-0605 [Print] England
• PMID: 19761711 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Contrast Media

Topics

• Blindness, Cortical (diagnosis, etiology, physiopathology)
• Contrast Media (adverse effects)
• Coronary Angiography (adverse effects)
• Humans
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Recovery of Function
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed