Case history
Case history
A 19-year-old man presents with a 4-month history of problems seeing at night. He is otherwise healthy, with no significant past medical or ocular history. He has a grandfather who is registered as partially sighted, but he is unsure of the cause. General medical exam is unremarkable. The patient's visual acuity is 6/6 (Snellen chart) and confrontational fields appear constricted in both eyes. Direct ophthalmoscopy reveals pale optic discs.
Other presentations
Vitamin A deficiency is a common cause of night blindness in resource-poor countries where malnutrition is prevalent. Patients with malabsorption syndromes related to Crohn disease, cystic fibrosis, chronic pancreatitis, or small bowel bypass for obesity, often present with an inability to see in dim light.[1][2] The symptoms can present at any age, and usually improve with dietary correction of the vitamin A deficiency.
Use of this content is subject to our disclaimer