THROMBOPHILIC FACTORS IN ISCHEMIC AND NONISCHEMIC IDIOPATHIC RETINAL VASCULITIS

Two common causes of visual loss in idiopathic retinal retinal ischaem ia and cystoid study investigated whether thrombophilic factors are mo re prevalent in patients with ischaemic RV than non-ischaemic RV, Twen ty patients with RV (10 ischaemic, 10 non-ischaemic) were prospectivel y recruited before starting systemic immunosuppression. Twenty-one dif ferent haemostatic parameters were tested. Seventeen patients had at l east one haemostatic abnormality, Three patients had low Protein S, on e had low Protein C, Three patients had positive anticardiolipin antib ody titres, 1 had poor fibrinolytic activity, 3 had raised fibrinogen levels, Ten patients had raised lipoprotein (a) levels, Fibrinogen lev els were higher in the smokers (p = 0.02), Although all von Willebrand 's factor levels were within the normal range, they were higher in the ischaemic group (p = 0.008), in which smoking was more prevalent, Thi s study has shown a high prevalence of thrombophilic abnormalities in RV patients, and implicates smoking in the aetiology of ischaemic RV.