Which of the following best describes the typical onset and fundus appearance in SARDS?

• A. Rapid onset of blindness over days to weeks with a normal appearing fundus
• B. Gradual vision loss with severely damaged fundus
• C. Painful red, swollen eye with chemosis
• D. Progressive cataract formation

Answer: (A)

SARDS presents as a sudden, painless loss of vision over days to weeks, while the fundus initially looks normal. This rapid onset reflects photoreceptor dysfunction that occurs without overt retinal or optic nerve head changes at first, so exam findings can be deceptively unremarkable even though vision is severely reduced. In practice, this pattern is supported by testing such as an extinguished full-field electroretinography, which shows retinal dysfunction despite a normal-appearing fundus. The other scenarios describe different problems: gradual vision loss with a visibly damaged fundus suggests chronic retinal disease, a painful red eye with chemosis points to anterior segment inflammation, and progressive cataracts produce vision decline due to lens opacity rather than retinal changes.