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Terson syndrome: the need for fundoscopy in subarachnoid haemorrhage

Akbar N Ashrafi, Rahul Chakrabarti and John Laidlaw
Med J Aust 2012; 197 (3): . || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10642
Published online: 6 August 2012

To the Editor: Patients who survive subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) are at significant risk of visual impairment, further complicating their recovery. This may arise as a result of Terson syndrome,1 which is the phenomenon of intraocular haemorrhage associated with any intracranial bleed and raised intracranial pressure. We report a case of missed Terson syndrome at a tertiary referral centre.


  • 1 Mater Adult Hospital, Brisbane, QLD.
  • 2 Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.
  • 3 Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.


Correspondence: Akbar.Ashrafi1@gmail.com

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

  • 1. Terson A. De l’hémorrhagie dans le corps vitre au cours de l’hémorrhagie cerebrale [French]. Clin Ophthalmol 1900; 6: 309-312.
  • 2. Linn FH, Rinkel GJ, Algra A, van Gijn J. Incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage: role of region, year, and rate of computed tomography: a meta-analysis. Stroke 1996; 27: 625-629.
  • 3. McCarron MO, Alberts MJ, McCarron P. A systematic review of Terson’s syndrome: frequency and prognosis after subarachnoid haemorrhage. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004; 75: 491-493.
  • 4. Frizzell RT, Kuhn F, Moris R, et al. Screening for ocular hemorrhages in patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms: a prospective study of 99 patients. Neurosurgery 1997; 4: 529-533; discussion 533-534.
  • 5. Sung W, Arnaldo B, Sergio C, et al. Terson’s syndrome as a prognostic factor for mortality of spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage. Acta Ophthalmol 2011; 89: 544-547.

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