Eye care in the community: Part 2 – Venous thrombosis

A venous thrombus is when a blood clot (known as a thrombus) forms within a vein. Thrombosis is a more general term for blood clotting within a blood vessel. A common type of venous thrombosis is a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is a blood clot in the deep veins of the leg. Cerebral venous thrombosis, a clot within a vein in the brain, is a relatively rare event. In this article I will describe such a case and hopefully reflect the fascinating journey that both the practitioner and patient were taken through.

Case: Cerebral Vein Thrombosis

A 23-year-old male had noticed a ‘transient black-out of vision’ in both eyes. Possessing a free eye test voucher from a multiple, he decided to have his eyes tested. A vigilant young optometrist noticed papilloedema of both the optic discs and referred the patient urgently to St Mary’s Hospital in London. The patient was seen by the accident and emergency team, and brain scans revealed a cerebral vein thrombosis together with intracranial hypertension. The MRI scans revealed thrombosis of the superior sagittal sinus vein (figure 1).