Central Retinal Artery Occlusion: Acute Management and Treatment

Purpose of Review: This review will seek to answer if advances in ophthalmic imaging and evolution of treatment modalities have shed further light on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and acute management of acute central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). Recent Findings: Imaging characteristics of acute CRAO have been further characterized with the use of fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT-angiography, and indocyanine green angiography. Layer segmentation of OCT imaging has found inner retinal layer hyper-reflectivity to be a common finding in acute CRAO. Non-invasive therapies, fibrinolytic delivery, and surgical interventions for acute CRAO have been further evaluated as potential management tools. Summary: A large body of literature reports very inconsistent treatment success with a wide variety of modalities. Currently, there is no clear evidence supporting the use of fibrinolytics in acute CRAO. Large, multicenter, randomized control trials are necessary to elucidate the role of the various acute treatment options in the management of CRAO.