Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine the utility of ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography in identifying and classifying various retinal vascular diseases.
Methods: :
A retrospective analysis was performed on 100 consecutive fluorescein angiograms obtained with the Optomap P200MA (Optos plc, Dunfermline, Scotland, UK). The analysis compared the fluorescein angiography findings to the clinical findings documented prior to imaging. Changes in diagnosis or revisions in grading the severity of disease were considered significant.
Results: :
Of the first 100 patients imaged, 15 patients had a significant change in diagnosis in at least one eye compared to the initial clinical exam. These revisions included the presence of undocumented neovascularization in 12 cases. An additional case revealed no neovascular disease in a diabetic patient presumed to have a vitreous hemorrhage secondary to proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Two adult patients with a history of retinopathy of prematurity were found to have peripheral vascular leakage of undetermined significance.
Conclusions: :
Ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography allows for a more complete evaluation of peripheral pathology and is very effective for establishing clinical diagnoses, judging disease severity, and classifying retinal vascular diseases.
Keywords: retina • imaging/image analysis: clinical • diabetic retinopathy