The following is a summary of “Clinical features of retinopathy after cardiopulmonary resuscitation,” published in the September 2023 issue of Opthalmology by Park et al.
Researchers started a retrospective study to evaluate retinopathy in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) patients using wide-field fundus photography and slit-lamp fundus examination.
They analyzed medical records for patients aged ≥ 18 who had survived CPR and undergone wide-field fundus photography and slit-lamp fundus examination within 3 months. The analysis assessed fundus findings, specifically retinal hemorrhage and cotton wool spots. Subjects were then divided into the retinopathy and non-retinopathy groups depending on the presence of these fundus findings. Comparative analysis was performed on systemic and CPR-related factors between the two groups.
The results indicated that the retinopathy group comprised 20 eyes (10 patients), while the non-retinopathy group included 28 (14 patients). The retinopathy group had a longer CPR time than the non-retinopathy group (15 ± 11 min vs. 6 ± 5 min, P=0.027). Among the retinopathy group, all eyes displayed retinal nerve fiber layer hemorrhage, and 55% exhibited intraretinal hemorrhage. Around 80% of the hemorrhages were in the peripapillary or posterior pole. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and central retinal thickness remained stable for 6 months. The average remission period for retinal hemorrhage was 6.8 ± 2.6 months; for cotton wool spots, it was 5.6 ± 2.1 months, with no retinopathy progression observed.
They concluded that retinopathy after CPR is more common in patients with longer CPR duration and improves over time.
Source: bmcophthalmol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12886-023-03137-3
