H53.1
DESCRIPTION
Causes of sudden loss of vision in an outwardly normal eye include:
- retinal detachment
- occlusion of the retinal artery or retinal vein/s
- vitreous haemorrhage
- optic and retrobulbar neuritis
- choroiditis
Causes of gradual loss of vision in an outwardly normal eye include:
- refractive errors
- cataracts
- retinopathies
- malignancies
- optic nerve and chiasmal disease
Loss of vision may also be associated with trauma, inflammation or other abnormalities.
REFERRAL
- Urgent: all children with sudden visual loss for full ophthalmic assessment and management.
- As soon as possible: all children with gradual visual loss, which is not fully corrected by refraction.