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Documentation of recovery from vitamin A deficiency-related retinopathy via multimodal imaging and electroretinogram testing

  • Clinical Case Report
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

To describe vitamin A deficiency using multimodal functional visual assessments and imaging.

Methods/Case

A 50-year-old female with past medical history significant for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery complained of nyctalopia and “yellowing” of vision.

Results

Vitamin A levels were noted to be < 0.06 mg/L (normal 0.3–0.12 mg/L). Fundus examination was notable for peripheral yellow punctate lesions, superior arcuate defects on HVF 30–2 testing, an indistinct ellipsoid zone on SD-OCT, and absent rod responses and severely reduced amplitudes for the cone photoreceptors on full-field ERG. These findings resolved with initiation of parenteral vitamin A supplementation.

Conclusion

This report documents an example of vitamin A deficiency in the developed world. We aim to provide a comprehensive description of clinical examination and multimodal imaging findings before and after vitamin supplementation for vitamin A deficiency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, New York University, Floor 3, 222 E 41st Street, New York City, NY, 10017, USA

    Stephanie Choi, Saagar Pandit & Scott E. Brodie

  2. New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, USA

    Sachi A. Patil

Authors
  1. Stephanie Choi
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  2. Saagar Pandit
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  3. Sachi A. Patil
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  4. Scott E. Brodie
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scott E. Brodie.

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Compliance with Ethical Standards

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were approved by and in accordance with the ethical standards of the New York University Langone Health Institutional Review Board (NYU IRB) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants or their parents prior to examination.

Statement of human rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of NYU Langone Health and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Not applicable.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Consent for publication

Verbal and written consent was obtained from the patient.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board exemption was obtained given this was a retrospective case report. We certify that this report was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Informed consent

Verbal and written informed consent was obtained from the patient.

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Not applicable as this was a retrospective case report.

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Choi, S., Pandit, S., Patil, S.A. et al. Documentation of recovery from vitamin A deficiency-related retinopathy via multimodal imaging and electroretinogram testing. Doc Ophthalmol 145, 157–162 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-022-09888-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-022-09888-6

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