Results of conservative treatment of central retinal artery occlusion
| Authors | No. of Patients | Medical Treatment | Final Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karjalainen, 1971 (19) (Patients with arteritis were included) | 91 | No comment | 58%blind, 21%good or reduced visual acuity |
| Neubauer et al., 2000 (20) | 65 | Acetazolamide, acetylsalicylic acid, massage of the globe, Pentoxifyllin, beta-blocker, paracentesis | 15%showed distinct improvement (at least three visual acuity gradations) |
| Schmidt et al., 1992 (18) (Control group of conservative treatment in comparison with small number of patients with LIF treatment) | 41 | Ocular massage, Pentoxifyllin, and anterior chamber paracentesis | Virtually no visual improvement; visual acuity improved to 20/50 in only one patient |
| Atebara et al., 1995 (8) | 40 | Paracentesis and Carbogen treatment | Nine (22.5%) patients, visual improvement |
| Augsburger and Magargal, 1980 (21) | 34 | Paracentesis, ocular massage, inhalational therapy (95%oxygen and 5%carbon dioxide), acetazolamide, and aspirin | Helpful in 12 (35%) patients (visual acuity ≥20/100) |
| Duker et al., 1991 (9) | 33 | Carbogen (95%oxygen and 5%carbon dioxide), ocular massage, anterior chamber paracentesis, topical timolol maleate, acetazolamide | 29 patients, low vision (ie, counting fingers or hand movements); one patient, vision deteriorated from 20/40 to hand motions; two patients, final visual acuity of 20/40; one patient, 20/50; one patient, 20/20 |
| Wolf et al., 1989 (10) | 20 | Hypervolemic or isovolemic hemodilution | 10 patients, central vision improved |
| Magargal and Goldberg, 1977 (22) | 20 | Paracentesis | Five patients, significant improvement; five patients, moderate improvement |
| Lorentzen 1969 (23) | 12 | No comment | In no case was there any improvement, rather deterioration |
| (10-year follow-up) | |||
| Rumelt et al., 1999 (14) | 11 | Ocular massage, sublingual isosorbide dinitrate, acetazolamide, mannitol or glycerol, paracentesis, methylprednisolone, streptokinase, and retrobulbar tolazoline | Eight patients, improvement |
| Gombos, 1970 (24) | 7 | Dextran (Rheomacrodex) with papaverine hydrochloride | Two patients, complete recovery; three patients, marked improvement |
| Perkins et al., 1987 (13) | 5 | Acetazolamide, inhalation of 5%carbon dioxide and 95%oxygen, aspirin | Three patients, spontaneous improvement to 20/50 or better; two patients, 20/80 or better after treatment |
| Beiran et al., 1993 (11) | 4 | Hyperbaric oxygenation combined with ocular massage, nifedipine, and glycerol | Three patients, treatment began <100 min, considerable improvement in vision; one patient, treatment began at 6 hr, no improvement |