Vision Loss Secondary to COVID-19 Associated Bilateral Cerebral Venous Sinus Thromboses

Abstract

A young, morbidly obese woman with recent SARS-CoV-2 infection requiring hospitalization presented with visual and neurologic complications secondary to bilateral cerebral venous sinus thromboses. With elevated intracranial pressure and severe papilledema, she rapidly progressed to complete bilateral vision loss despite anticoagulation, therapeutic lumbar punctures with lumbar drain, bilateral optic nerve sheath fenestrations, and endovascular thrombectomy. It is possible that obese patients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection may be at greater risk of hypercoagulable cerebrovascular complications. It is impossible to know if an even more rapid response would have led to a different outcome, but we report this case in the hope that publishing this and similar cases may result in improved treatment protocols to preserve vision.

In Brief

Cerebral venous sinus thromboses related to recent or active SARS-CoV-2 infection has vision-threatening implications. Prompt diagnosis and early intervention may mitigate morbidity to preserve vision in these hypercoagulable patients.