Abstract
Purpose: :
To describe and correlate morphologic and functional abnormalities in retinitis pigmentosa through spectral domain macular optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), microperimetry, autofluorescence (AF), and electroretinography (ERG).
Methods: :
Thirty eyes of 15 patients previously diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa prospectively underwent clinical examination, measurement of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), SD-OCT, autofluorescence, microperimetry, and ERG.
Results: :
6 males and 9 females with an average age of 48.2 years were enrolled in the study. BCVA ranged from 20/20 to hand motion, with 19 eyes retaining vision of 20/50 or greater (Group 1). Microperimetry within the central one degree of fixation ranged from 0 to 20 decibels with an average of 9 db in all patients, 12 db in Group 1, and 0.77 db in eyes with vision of 20/50 or worse (Group 2).OCT findings included the following: Varying degrees of loss of the highly reflective line, representing the junction of the inner and outer segments of the photoreceptor layer (28 eyes), epiretinal membrane (15), cystoid macular edema or CME (7), vitreomacular traction (1), and diffuse atrophy and RPE disorganization (8). Of these, CME was more likely to be found in eyes retaining better visual acuity (6/7), while atrophy and RPE disorganization (8/8) were more likely to be found in poorer seeing eyes.Though AF showed varying patterns, a hyperfluorescent ring around the fovea was encountered in 12 eyes, all in Group 1. Hypofluorescent patches were more common in eyes with poor visual acuity.
Conclusions: :
Functional tests and structural imaging can provide valuable and often corroborative data in evaluating the extent of macular involvement in patients with retinitis pigmentosa.
Keywords: retinal degenerations: hereditary • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound)