Introduction. When fundus examination is not possible, ultrasonography (US) is an accurate tool for the diagnosis of retinal tears (RT). The aim of this study was to describe the predominant location of RT, the factors influencing their location, and the vitreous status of eyes with RT using US. Methods. A prospective study was conducted in all patients diagnosed with RT by B-scan US (Aviso, Quantel Médical, Clermont-Ferrand, France). The primary endpoint was to assess RT preferential location using US. Secondary endpoints were the rate of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), number of eyes with multiple RT, and axial length (AL). Results. A total of 101 eyes of 100 patients with RT were included. RT main location was in the superior quadrants (either nasal superior, strictly superior, or temporal superior) in 71% of cases. All patients were diagnosed with PVD by US, and 79% had a vitreous hemorrhage. Twelve eyes (13%) were diagnosed with multiple RT. The mean AL was 24.62 ± 2 mm, and it was significantly longer in eyes without superior RT (25.52 mm versus 24.37 mm; p=0.004). Conclusion. In this study, we showed a superior location of RT diagnosed by US in more than two-thirds of cases associated with a significantly shorter AL than in other locations. This finding could increase US sensitivity for RT detection and help to improve the US learning curve of ophthalmologists in training and surgical decision-making when the retina is inaccessible due to opacity media.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:
Geographic atrophy (GA) involves the progressive loss of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), photoreceptors, and choriocapillaris (CC). CC flow within a GA area is severely impaired in patients with atrophic age-related macular degeneration. The aim of this study was to compare GA area measured on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) (CC nonperfusion area) and on fundus autofluorescence (FAF).
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
In this prospective, observational, cross-sectional study, OCTA and FAF were performed in patients with GA. On OCTA (CC segmentation), the CC nonperfusion area was measured manually using calipers. On FAF, GA was manually delimited, and the total surface was obtained using Region Finder software. The primary endpoint was to compare the CC nonperfusion area measured on OCTA and on the gold standard method (FAF).
RESULTS:
Forty eyes of 34 patients with a mean age of 82.63 years ± 9.21 years (range: 66 years to 100 years) were included. The mean GA area measured on FAF and OCTA was, respectively, 2.184 ± 3.045 mm
2
and 2.349 ± 3.237 mm
2
(
P
= .035). The mean difference was 0.165 ± 0.290 mm
2
. A strong correlation was found between both measurements (r = 0.97;
P
< .0001; confidence interval: 0.98–0.99), although the CC nonperfusion area was larger than the GA area on FAF (
P
= .035).
CONCLUSIONS:
In this study, the authors showed that in GA, the CC nonperfusion area correlates linearly with the GA area assessed by FAF. Also, the CC nonperfusion area is larger than the GA area measured by FAF, suggesting that CC degeneration could occur before RPE degeneration in GA.
[
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina
. 2019;50:e222–e228.]
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