Abstract
Purpose :
Even mild asymptomatic familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) has funduscopic abnormalities in the posterior pole such as more retinal vessels, larger disc-to-macula distance and smaller optic disc. However, there is limited data on topographic findings of the optic disc in FEVR especially in young children. We evaluated optic disc characteristics in FEVR using optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Methods :
We examined optic discs of 20 eyes in 14 patients with FEVR using a hand-held optical OCT imaging system (Bioptigen Envisu C2300, Bioptigen, Durham, USA). Eyes with total retinal detachment or retinal fold were excluded. We evaluated the optic disc in FEVR eyes and compared the findings to those in an age-matched normal control group.
Results :
Mean age at examination was 33 months in the study group. Seven eyes were in stage 1, ten eyes in stage 2, two eyes in stage 3, and one eye in stage 4. There was disc elevation in 18 eyes in the study group vs. 3 eyes in the control group (Chi-square test, p<0.0001). On qualitative review, we observed that disc cupping was shallower, C/D ratio was smaller, and disc-to-fovea distance was larger in the study group when compared to the control group. We plan to measure these outcomes in each group and compare using the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test.
Conclusions :
In this first report of optic nerve analysis in eyes with FEVR which includes young children, eyes with FEVR were characterized by optic disc elevations, shallow disc cupping, and small C/D ratio. The presence of these optic disc findings may facilitate early diagnosis of FEVR. These findings also suggest that either traction, vascular congestion or nerve fiber layer crowding may occur in early stages of FEVR.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.