The use of colour Doppler imaging in the diagnosis of retinal detachment

Abstract

Design Prospective study. Purpose To evaluate real-time duplex colour Doppler examination with colour and pulse Doppler ultrasonography (US) (colour Doppler imaging (CDI)) for detection of the retinal detachment from membranous structures in the posterior segment. Materials and methods In 33 consecutive patients with ophthalmoscopically invisible eyes (34 eyes), CDI was performed to detect the presence or absence of retinal detachment. The diagnostic criterion for retinal detachment was whether or not spectral waveforms were detected in membranous structures with colour and pulse Doppler US. In all cases, the absence or presence of retinal detachment was confirmed by surgery. Results In 27 of 34 eyes, membranes and/or opacities were observed in the vitreous cavity with CDI. In 12 of these 27 eyes, blood flow in those structures was detected by CDI. In all of these 12 eyes, retinal detachment was confirmed at surgery, and in 14 of the 15 eyes in which blood flow was not detected by CDI, absence of retinal detachment was confirmed at surgery. When a diagnosis confirmed by surgery was used as the definitive finding, CDI had a sensitivity of 92.3%, specificity of 100%, positive predictive value of 100%, negative predictive value of 93.3%, and an accuracy in the detection of retinal detachment from membranes and/or opacities in the vitreous cavity of 96.3%. Conclusion Real-time duplex colour Doppler examination with colour and pulse Doppler US (CDI) is a noninvasive method useful for the detection of retinal detachment from vitreous opacity and/or membrane in the posterior segment.

Contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography in the differentiation of retinal detachment and vitreous membrane in dogs and cats

“…It has been shown that detecting the presence of vascularity within a detached retina and documenting the lack of vascularity in vitreous membranes using colour Doppler imaging (CDI) can differentiate retinal detachments from vitreous membranes (Wong and others 1991, Stefanczyk and others 1996, Ido and others 2007). In veterinary medicine, contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography (CEU) using stabilised microbubble contrast agents has been used to improve the detection of vascularity within organs (Haers and Saunders 2009), but to the authors’ knowledge, the use of CEU has not been reported for the ocular examinations in veterinary patients.…”

Sensitivity, Specificity and Accuracy of Color Doppler Ultrasonography for Diagnosis of Retinal Detachment

“…[8,16] Studies examining changes in ocular blood flow velocities in RD are limited. [10] Ido et al found the usefulness of CDUS in the diagnosis of RD in the presence of hazy media. [10] Similar to ours, in their study, the absence or presence of RD was confirmed during surgery.…”

“…[8] RD was described as visualization of a flow signal (presence of vascularity) along the detached retina, while vitreous membranes were described as lack of vascularity. [10]…”

“…However, differentiating RD from those structures in the posterior segment is difficult in cases of shallow or localized RD. [10,11] In such cases, color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) can play an important role in the diagnosis of RD by demonstrating blood flow in the detached retina. CDUS helps ophthalmologists examine the retinal blood flow, even in the presence of dense ocular opacities preventing a direct view of the posterior segment.…”

Colour Doppler Imaging of Ocular and Orbital Blood Vessels in Retinal Diseases

“…CDI can be used to differentiate rhegmatogenous retinal detachment from vitreous membranes in cases where ophthalmoscopy is not feasible. 65,66 Some authors suggest that contrast enhancement improves the accuracy of CDI in such cases. 67 The blood flow velocity in the retrobulbar central retinal, short posterior and ophthalmic arteries was decreased in eyes with retinal detachment compared to those of control subjects.…”