Widefield Swept-Source OCTA Findings in HELLP Syndrome: Choroidal Infarcts.

Abstract

Purpose: Pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, and hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome have been previously implicated with ophthalmic complications including serous retinal detachments and disorders of the choroidal vasculature. Herein, we report a case of macular serous detachment associated with HELLP syndrome in which wide field swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (WF SS-OCTA) was used.

Methods: Retrospective case report of a patient who developed HELLP syndrome. The patient underwent multimodal retinal imaging and wide field swept-source OCT angiography (WF SS-OCTA) (PLEX® Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc.).

Results: A 36-year-old female patient diagnosed with HELLP syndrome presented with bilateral blurry vision. At presentation, dilated fundus exam revealed localized subretinal fluid in the macula. WF SS-OCTA showed areas of peripapillary and subfoveal flow signal attenuation in the choroid OD, consistent with choroidal infarction.

Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that HELLP syndrome is associated with vascular changes that lead to choroidal dysfunction and subsequent serous retinal detachments. Furthermore, this case highlights a role for the non-invasive WF SS-OCTA technology in diagnosing and further characterizing the pathophysiology without the use of dye-based angiography.