Purpose: To describe a patient with undiagnosed primary hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) who presented with Purtscher-like retinopathy and to review the literature.
Methods: Observational case report.
Patient: A 25-year-old man presented with a 1-week history of bilateral visual blur. Examination revealed multiple peripapillary cotton-wool spots and few intraretinal hemorrhages. Clinical history was obtained and fluorescein angiography, systemic evaluation, laboratory studies, and histopathologic analysis of a bone marrow biopsy specimen were performed.
Results: The patient was diagnosed with primary HES. No previous description was found in the literature.
Conclusion: HES should be considered in the differential diagnosis of Purtscher retinopathy. This case supports the microembolic theory of Purtscher retinopathy.