ABSTRACT

This 6-month-old boy presented to the emergency department as his mother noticed he had developed a squint. Image 65 shows his left eye and his right eye showed the same clinical sign.

What does the illustration show?

What are the most common causes in this age group?

What other causes do you know?

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The image shows diffuse vitreous haemorrhage.

There are many causes of this condition. The causes vary according to the age of presentation. Shaken baby syndrome is the most common cause in infants and toddlers and in one large series, this was the cause in 50% of cases of bilateral vitreous haemorrhage.

In full-term infants, vitreous haemorrhage can be caused by birth trauma. Through childhood, other causes include accidental non-penetrating and penetrating trauma, regressed retinopathy of prematurity and tumours such as retinoblastoma. Idiopathic cases have also been described.1