A Case of Complete Recovery of Visual Loss Associated With Electroconvulsive Therapy

In Gun Kim; Kyeong Hwan Kim; Jung Min Park; Soo Jung Lee

doi:10.3341/jkos.2010.51.11.1543

Journal List > J Korean Ophthalmol Soc > v.51(11) > 1008698

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Kim, Kim, Park, and Lee: A Case of Complete Recovery of Visual Loss Associated With Electroconvulsive Therapy

Original Article

J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2010;51(11):1543-1547.

Published online: 7 September 2010

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2010.51.11.1543

A Case of Complete Recovery of Visual Loss Associated With Electroconvulsive Therapy

In Gun Kim, MD, Kyeong Hwan Kim, MD, Jung Min Park, MD, Soo Jung Lee, MD, PhD

Department of Ophthalmology, Maryknoll Medical Center, Busan, Korea

Address reprint requests to Soo Jung Lee, MD, Ph D Department of Ophthalmology, Maryknoll Medical Center #4-12 Daecheong-dong, Jung-gu, Busan 600-730, Korea Tel: 051-461-2469, Fax: 051-462-3534, E-mail: kris9352@ daum.net

Received 1 June 2010 Accepted 24 September 2010

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

To report a case of complete recovery within 1 day of cortical blindness associated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Case summary

A 15-year-old girl, who had no ophthalmologic disease, complained of bilateral visual loss immediately after ECT. At the first ophthalmologic examination, best corrected visual acuity was 0.03 in both eyes. Findings of anterior segment and fundus, movement of external ocular muscles, and pupillary light reflex were normal. Visual field examination showed generalized reduction of sensitivity and increased fixation loss in both eyes. Optical coherence tomography revealed no abnormalities. Electroretinography was normal, and a slightly prolonged latency of P100 was noted in the right and left flash visual evoked potentials. Without any specific treatment, the patient's vision improved gradually after 18 hours of ECT and was recovered completely, with vision of 1.0 in both eyes the next day. There were no abnormalities in visual evoked potentials or the visual field.

Conclusions

Transient visual loss can occur after ECT, because of cortical blindness by transient cerebral ischemia, and can be recovered completely without specific treatment.

Keywords: Cortical blindness, Electroconvulsive therapy, Visual evoked potential, Visual loss

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Figure 1.

Visual field reveals generalized reduction of sensitivity and increased fixation loss. These results may be caused not only by poor cooperation but also poor visual acuity.

Figure 2.

(A) Pattern visual evoked potentials show no potential in both sides. (B) Slightly prolonged latency of P100 is noted in the right and left flash visual evoked potentials.

Figure 3.

Visual field reveals no abnormality after complete recovery of visual loss.

Figure 4.

There are no abnormalities in (A) both side pattern visual evoked potentials and (B) in both flash visual evoked potentials after complete recovery of visual loss.

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