CLINICOPATHOLOGY OF A CASE WITH RETINOPATHY OF PANCREATITIS

Bilateral retinopathy of pancreatitis developed in a 36-year-old male patient during recurrent acute necrotizing pancreatitis. The retinopat hy remained clinically unchanged between the detection and the death 6 days later. Characteristics of the retinal lesions were histologicall y similar to cotton-wool spots of other origin, but all the retinal ve ssels including vessels around and in the cotton-wool spots were intac t and contained plasma and red blood cells. Absence of vascular occlus ion and endothelial damage suggets that in acute pancreatitis vascular embolisation in the retina is not necessary to the development of cot ton-wool patches.