An Unusual Association Between Pancreatic Cancer and Purtscher-like Retinopathy

Sponsor

University of Catania (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT05350384

Collaborator

(none)

Enrollment

Location

4.5

Actual Duration (Months)

0.2

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

AN UNUSUAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PANCREATIC CANCER AND PURTSCHER-LIKE RETINOPATHY

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Purtscher Retinopathy Pancreatic Cancer	Drug: Methylprednisolone

Detailed Description

Purtscher's retinopathy may cause sudden loss of vision of varying severity, secondary to head or chest injury. Its pathophysiology is unclear. Purtscher's-like retinopathy has more attenuated clinical and objective features and can be associated with many non-neoplastic pathologies.

Otherwise, an association of this kind of retinopathy with malignancies has been described once in the Literature (multiple myeloma). We present a case report on a unique association between pancreatic cancer and Purtscher-type retinopathy.

Study Design

Study Type:

Observational

Actual Enrollment :

1 participants

Observational Model:

Case-Only

Time Perspective:

Prospective

Official Title:

An Unusual Association Between Pancreatic Cancer and Purtscher-like Retinopathy: Presentation of a Unique Case

Actual Study Start Date :

Jun 18, 2021

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Jul 31, 2021

Actual Study Completion Date :

Nov 1, 2021

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

funduscopic examination [at the onset of symptoms]
At the funduscopic examination the back of the eye showed large yellow spots and retinal hemorrhages in the superficial retina. In the early stages, fluorescein angiography showed hypofluorescence in the area of the yellow-white patches while the late stages showed hyperfluorescence

Secondary Outcome Measures

abdominal CT-scan [at the onset of symptoms]
CT scan of the abdomen revealed a large mass in the tail of the pancreas with direct extension to the vessels of splenic hilum and splenic vein thrombosis. A secondary invasion of the gastric wall and left adrenal gland was also demonstrated. Percutaneous needle biopsy was performed and histopathology showed moderate to poorly differentiated mucinous pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Other Outcome Measures

Unusual association between Purtscher-like retinopathy and a malignant disease (pancreatic cancer) [at the diagnosis]
Ocular history and medical history were irrelevant.
Therapy [after 1 month from diagnosis]
An improvement of the macular edema and of the sight was reported after one-month administrating 1 g. of methylprednisolone in saline solution 250 cc once a day for 5 days, and one eye drops of Diclofenac per eye 3 times a day. The patient was not found fit for surgical treatment of his pancreatic cancer and therefore oncologic palliative medical treatment was performed.