Thyroid Eye Disease With Divergence Insufficiency Causing Recurrent Falls in an Elderly Patient

Recurrent falls are a common cause of morbidity in the elderly population, as more than one-third of individuals aged 65 years or older experience falls each year. Falls remain a multifactorial phenomenon that can potentially result in devastating debilitation and hence require proper medical attention and management. In an elderly patient presenting with recurrent falls, the workup for differential diagnoses remains wide with various causes such as postural hypotension, syncope, seizures, arrhythmia, medication-induced, and cognitive impairment. In this report, we discuss an interesting case of recurrent falls in an elderly woman with hyperthyroidism who was repeatedly found to have unremarkable lab results and negative imaging studies. She was later diagnosed with divergence insufficiency with intermittent esotropia secondary to thyroid ophthalmopathy, which was the cause of her underlying horizontal diplopia contributing to her falls. This can cause blurry vision at further distances, which is observed especially in individuals older than 50 years. Treatment typically involves prism therapy, surgery in refractory patients, and, currently, novel therapy using teprotumumab infusion. The patient was referred to see a strabismus specialist for prism prescription and possible surgical intervention. In elderly patients with a history of recurrent falls, a comprehensive visual exam should be strongly considered, especially for individuals with repeated negative workups, to prevent further testing or procedures.