Question

A 15-year-old high school sophomore presents to the emergency room with his mother for evaluation of an area of blood in the left eye. He denies trauma or injury but has been coughing forcefully with a recent cold. He denies visual disturbances, eye pain, or discharge from the eye. On physical examination, the pupils are equal, round, and reactive to light, with a visual acuity of 20/20 in each eye and 20/20 bilaterally. There is a homogeneous, sharply demarcated area at the lateral aspect of the base of the left eye. The cornea is clear. Based on this description, what is the most likely diagnosis?

A) Conjunctivitis
B) Acute iritis
C) Corneal abrasion
D) Subconjunctival hemorrhage

Answer 1

The answer is D subconjunctival hemorrhage

Explanation- the patients eye isn’t completely red and he has no pain in it so it isn’t A or B. A corneal abrasion is just a scratch so redness isn’t normally splotch like. So that rules out the other options, plus a subconjunctival hemorrhage can be caused by a forceful cough or sneeze which the patient is experiencing.