Over the past twenty years, the European drug market has turned out to become more complex because of the emergence of new psychoactive substances (N.P.S). The N.P.S designation refers to new synthetic drugs that are designed to mimic the effects of the so-called standard drugs, such as heroin, cannabis, cocaine, as well as others. Though being similar, the clinical features of N.P.S are inherently more complex to deal with because of their ability to act on different receptor types.

The treatment remains symptomatic owing to the lack of antidotes or quick identification tests. The identification, evaluation, and evolution of the patient at risk of instability primarily guide the treatment.

Objectives

- To report a case of severe hypovitaminosis A, responsible for bilateral blindness, which occurred 10 years after a bilio-pancreatic bypass.

- To recall the necessity of an early vitamin supplementation to obtain a remission of visual manifestations.

Method

Case report, review of the literature

Results

A 36-year-old man, who was followed-up and treated for keratoconus, was referred to our unit due to a progressive bilateral visual loss. The medical history revealed a gastric bypass surgery 10 years earlier, which had been followed by a biliopancreatic bypass.

Ophthalmological examination revealed bilateral blindness and severe dry eyes. The fundus was only visible at the right eye. On fundoscopy, the optic nerve was pale, and the retina showed diffuse pigmentary changes. There was a lack of response on the electroretinogram. Biological analysis revealed undetectable vitamin A levels, along with low levels of Cu, Zn, 25OHvitamin D, and vitamin E. The diagnosis of retinopathy and optic neuropathy due to nutritional deficiencies was made. Following treatment with vitamin supplementation, vision improved, yet in the right eye only.

Conclusions

Vitamin A deficiency associated with irreversible blindness is a clinical picture that is only rarely encountered in industrialized countries. Digestive malabsorption, especially if induced by bariatric surgery with biliopancreatic diversion, is a common cause. Recognition of the early symptoms, including xerophthalmia and night blindness, is essential to enable curative treatment to be initiated.

The knowledge of physicians in the field of nutrition mostly lags far behind the patients’ expectations, without complying with official recommendations. However, poor-quality nutrition and diet represent the first cause of mortality worldwide. As a result of insufficient training and poor awareness, many physicians do not meet patients’ expectations. Moreover, nutrition is often perceived as of low scientific value, thereby opening the area to numerous pseudo-scientific errancies. We advocate an overall improvement in nutrition training during the medical cursus, including transversal integration of nutritional insights into medical courses, in addition to the recognition of post-university training validated by academic authorities. A clarification of the roles and recognition of the competency framework are urgently required in order to further promote the professionalism of nutritional counselling.