Acute Retinal Ischemia: Time for Action!

In this interview from AAO 2021, Dr. Valérie Biousse discusses essential points from her 2021 William F. Hoyt Lecture on the management of acute retinal ischemia. Urgent diagnosis of transient visual obscuration or monocular vision loss (TMVL) is essential for any patient who presents with symptoms suggestive of a retinal artery occlusion. Treatment of acute retinal ischemia with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) is similarly urgent—within 4.5 hours of symptom offset, the same parameters for cerebral stroke. These patients should be referred immediately for potential stroke, says Dr. Biousse, so she recommends that ophthalmologists always have at their disposal the whereabouts and contact information for the nearest certified stroke center. 

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