Retinopathy Revealing Cerebral Venous Thrombosis in Sickle Cell Disease in Niger

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) in sickle cell disease has been rarely described in the literature. Some authors consider sickle cell disease as a risk factor for CVT. We report the case of a 20-year-old boy, known as sickle cell, followed at the National Reference Center for Sickle Cell Disease in Niger. Admitted in consultation for a decrease of acuity with the right eye with perception of a black spot evolving since about three (3) days, ophthalmological examination revealed sickle cell retinopathy associated with cerebral venous thrombosis on MRI. The rest of the balance showed normochromic anemia, ionic disturbance and a D-dimer at 1500 μg/l. Rehydration, strict rest, antibiotic therapy and analgesics were started with an internal medicine opinion for further treatment. There was an improvement in visual acuity of 6/10 in 48 hours with disappearance of black spot perception, after three weeks, an ad integrum recovery of retinal lesions to control imaging. Despite the ocular complications of sickle cell disease involving visual prognosis, cerebral venous thrombosis is another complication to be investigated in any sickle cell retinopathy.