Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To characterize choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in East Asian patients seen at a U.S. university-based practice of four retina specialists. Methods: Medical records of Asian patients diagnosed as having CNV between 1996 and 2001 were identified by reviewing computerized billing records for ICD-9 codes of 362.16 and 362.52 after permission by the university’s IRB to proceed with this retrospective review exempt from obtaining informed consent, and then matching cases with self-report of Asian race during patient registration. Records were reviewed for demographic information, fluorescein angiographic characteristics, the underlying retinal pathology, and natural history. The proportion of patients with CNV among each race also was determined for all patients seen at the same practice between April 2001 and October of 2001. Results: Twenty-three Asian patients were diagnosed with CNV. The median age of the group was 61.1 years (18.4-86.1). Thirteen (56%) of 23 patients were women. The most common cause of CNV was pathologic myopia (11 patients), followed by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (6 patients). Six of 23 had CNV in both eyes. 4,111 patients were seen at the practice between April 2001 and October of 2001. Of these, 42 patients (1%) were identified as being Asian, 653 (15.9%) black, and 2602 (63.3%) as white, 15 (0.4%) as other, and 799 (19.4%) had no race recorded. CNV related to AMD was diagnosed in 7.1% of Asians, 2.6% of blacks, and 23.3% of whites. CNV not related to AMD was diagnosed in 14.3% of Asians, 1.7% of blacks, and 4.5% of whites. Conclusions: The frequency of the various etiology of CNV seems to be different in Asians compared to white or black populations. In this referral center, the prevalence of CNV in Asians was lower than whites, but more frequent than blacks, although the precise estimates for these prevalences cannot be determined from this study, given the relatively small number of absolute cases identified.
Keywords: choroid: neovascularization • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: pre • myopia