Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the autofluorescence features of choroidal nevus.
Methods: :
Sixty-four nevi in sixty-three consecutive patients were evaluated by fundus autofluorescence. The fundus autofluorescence was performed with special filters (580 nm excitation, 695 nm barrier filter) to avoid imaging the autofluorescence of the lens using a Zeiss camera (Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc, Jena, Germany) and Ophthalmic Imaging Systems (OIS) (Sacramento, CA, USA) software. The clinical features were correlated with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fundus autofluorescence (AF) findings.
Results: :
The mean patient age was 64 years. The diagnosis of choroidal nevus was made with clinical examination, ultrasonography and fluorescein angiography in all patients. Using fundus autofluorescence, the choroidal nevus showed mild hypoAF in 18%, trace hypoAF 32%, isoAF in 19%, and trace hyperAF in 15%. The AF had a fine granular appearance in 40%, coarse granular in 29% and homogeneous in 20% cases. Drusen were observed overlying 37 (56%) nevi and disclosed trace hyperAF in 22, isoAF in 9, mild hypoAF in 5, and marked hypoAF in 1. Overlying retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy was present in 14 (21%) nevi and demonstrated hypoAF in 10 cases and isoAF in 4. RPE detachment was seen in 3 (4%) case and resulted in hypoAF in 2 chronic cases and hyperAF in 1 fresh case.
Conclusions: :
Fundus AF is a helpful non-invasive diagnostic tool in the evaluation of chronic changes overlying choroidal nevi.
Keywords: tumors • choroid • imaging/image analysis: clinical