Background: Acute central retinal artery occlusion occurs as a sudden interruption of the blood supply to the retina and results in an almost complete loss of vision in the affected eye. There is no generally agreed treatment regimen although a number of therapeutic interventions have been proposed.
Objectives: The objective of this review is to examine the effects of treatments used for acute non-arteritic central retinal artery occlusion.
Search strategy: We searched the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register - CENTRAL/CCTR, which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group specialised register (Cochrane Library Issue 4, 2001), MEDLINE (1966 to August 2001) and EMBASE (1980 to September 2001). We searched the reference lists of relevant papers for trials.
Selection criteria: We included only randomised controlled trials in which one treatment aimed to re-establish blood supply to the retina in people with acute central retinal artery occlusion was compared to another treatment.
Data collection and analysis: Two reviewers independently assessed the search results for trials to be included in the review. Discrepancies were resolved by discussion.
Main results: We found no randomised controlled trials that met our inclusion criteria.
Reviewer's conclusions: There is currently not enough evidence to decide which, if any, interventions for acute non-arteritic central retinal artery occlusion would result in any beneficial or harmful effect. Well-designed randomised controlled trials are needed to establish the most effective treatment.