Acute bilateral vitreo-retinal hemorrhages following oxygen-ozone therapy for lumbar disk herniation
Lo Giudice G, Valdi F, Gismondi M, Prosdocimo G, et al. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 2004.
- Study type
- Case report
- People studied
- 1 person
- Population
- 45-year-old woman with acute bilateral visual loss after intradiscal and periganglionic injection of an oxygen-ozone mixture for lumbar disk herniation
- Published
- 2004, American Journal of Ophthalmology
- Identifiers
- PMID 15234314, DOI 10.1016/j.ajo.2004.02.059
What the authors reported
After intradiscal and periganglionic injection of an oxygen-ozone mixture for lumbar disk herniation, a 45-year-old woman had acute visual loss in both eyes: a premacular hemorrhage involving the left macula and multiple flat retinal hemorrhages in the right eye. MRI showed no intracranial hemorrhage; the left premacular hemorrhage was drained with Nd:YAG laser a few weeks later.
What limits this result
Single case report, read from the abstract only. The abstract gives no ozone concentration or volume, no visual acuity before or after treatment, and no length of follow-up, and it shows the event occurred, not how often it occurs.
Harms reported after ozone therapy, and studies of how ozone exposure affects health. One study rarely settles a medical question; our guides weigh each paper against the rest of the evidence.
How the study was done
- Design
- Observational case report
- Setting
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy (author affiliation)
- Read from
- Read from the abstract only; where this page says nothing about an item, the abstract does not report it. Read on October 2, 2026.
Source: Abstract on PubMed
Study arms
| Group | Participants | What they received |
|---|---|---|
| Single patient: 45-year-old woman | Not reported | Intradiscal and periganglionic injection of an oxygen-ozone (O2O3) gas mixture for lumbar disk herniation |
Source: Abstract on PubMed
What it measured
- Presenting complaint
- Acute bilateral visual loss after the injection
A 45-year-old woman complained about acute bilateral visual loss after intradiscal and periganglionic injection of gas mixture (O(2)O(3)) for lumbar disk herniation.
- Ophthalmoscopy, left eye
- Premacular hemorrhage involving the left macula
- Right eye
- Multiple, flat, retinal hemorrhages around the optic disk and the posterior pole
- MRI scan for intracranial hemorrhage
- Unremarkable
- Treatment of the left premacular hemorrhage
- Drained by pulsed Nd:YAG laser a few weeks later
- Authors' conclusion
- Retinal hemorrhages seem to be an uncommon but significant complication of intradiscal oxygen-ozone infiltration
Source: Abstract on PubMed
Safety as reported
Acute bilateral intraocular hemorrhages after injection of an oxygen-ozone mixture
Source: Abstract on PubMed
Where we cite this study
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