Patchy hyperautofluorescence as a predictive factor for the recurrence of punctate inner choroidopathy

SOLITARY PUNCTATE CHORIORETINITIS: A Unique Subtype of Punctate Inner Choroidopathy

PURPOSE

To describe a case series of a special subtype of punctate inner choroidopathy with solitary lesions in the macular area and named solitary punctate chorioretinitis.

METHODS

This retrospective observational study clinically evaluated 12 eyes from 12 patients diagnosed as punctate inner choroidopathy with solitary lesions. Demographic data and multimodal imaging features were analyzed for the included patients.

RESULTS

All the included patients were Chinese and of Han ethnicity. The median age of the included patients was 29.5 years (range: 25-40 years). Most patients (11/12, 91.67%) were myopic, with median refraction errors of -4.4 diopters (D) (range: -8.5 to 0 D). Solitary chorioretinitis lesions were yellow‒white and appeared hyperfluorescent during the entire phase of fundus fluorescein angiography without leakage (9/12, 75%) and hypofluorescent on indocyanine green angiography (11/11, 100%). On spectral domain optical coherence tomography, active inflammatory lesions appeared as isolated, heterogeneous, moderately reflective material at the outer retina (10/12, 83.33%) in the fovea or parafoveal region with disruption of the outer retinal layers. When the inflammatory lesions regressed, the moderately reflective materials in the outer retina were absorbed or regressed with outer retinal tissue loss. Additional sequelae of lesion regression included focal choroidal excavation and intraretinal cystoid space. Secondary choroidal neovascularization was noticed in 2 eyes (2/12, 16.67%).

CONCLUSION

Solitary punctate chorioretinitis is a rare and unique subtype of punctate inner choroidopathy. Solitary punctate chorioretinitis may also be an unrecognized etiology of some forms of focal choroidal excavation and idiopathic choroidal neovascularization.

CORRELATION BETWEEN INFLAMMATORY FOCI REACTIVATION AND ATROPHY GROWTH IN EYES WITH IDIOPATHIC MULTIFOCAL CHOROIDITIS

PURPOSE

To correlate the number of inflammatory reactivations in atrophic foci of multifocal choroiditis (MFC) with their growth rate over a 4-year span.

METHODS

Comparative case series. Optical coherence tomography scans of patients affected by MFC were reviewed to identify reactivations within or at the margin of atrophic MFC foci. The area of selected lesions was semiautomatically delineated on fundus autofluorescence images and recorded at yearly intervals for a total follow-up of 4 years. The main outcome was the difference in annual square-root transformed area growth rate between lesions that reactivated and lesions that did not.

RESULTS

Sixty-six foci of 30 eyes of 24 patients were included. All MFC foci enlarged over time, but the annual growth rate was more than double in lesions that reactivated compared with those that did not (mean [SD], 0.051 [0.035] vs. 0.021 [0.015] mm/year, P < 0.001), despite starting from comparable baseline areas. For each additional inflammatory reactivation, the annual growth rate increased by more than 20% (+0.009 mm/year, 95% CI [0.006, 0.012], P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Increasing number of reactivations of atrophic foci led to proportional increments in their growth rate, highlighting the need for a tight control of inflammatory relapses in patients affected by MFC.

PREVALENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MULTIFOCAL CHOROIDITIS/PUNCTATE INNER CHOROIDOPATHY IN PATHOLOGIC MYOPIA EYES WITH PATCHY ATROPHY

PURPOSE

To determine the prevalence and characteristics of multifocal choroiditis/punctate inner choroidopathy (MFC/PIC) in eyes with patchy atrophy because of pathologic myopia.

METHODS

Five hundred eyes of 253 patients with patchy atrophy were examined between 2014 and 2020 at the Advanced Clinical Center for Myopia. The main outcome measures included the prevalence and characteristics of active MFC/PIC lesions diagnosed by optical coherence tomography.

RESULTS

Fifty-five of the 500 eyes (11%) diagnosed with patchy atrophy had optical coherence tomography features of active MFC/PIC lesions, such as focal elevations of the retinal pigment epithelium filled with medium hyperreflectivity material, curvilinear scars (Schlaegel lines), and/or areas of outer retinal atrophy. At the time when the MFC/PIC was diagnosed, the mean age was 57.3 ± 12.0 years, and the mean axial length was 29.2 ± 1.8 mm. Macular neovascularization was found in 45 of eyes (81.8%) with MFC/PIC versus 151 eyes without such findings (33.9%; P < 0.001). In 25 of the 55 eyes (45.5%), active MFC/PIC lesions were found before the development of the patchy atrophy. The Bruch membrane defects were colocated with these lesions.

CONCLUSION

Active MFC/PIC lesions were identified in a minority of eyes with pathologic myopia, and a subset of these lesions were observed to progress to findings indistinguishable from myopic patchy atrophy. Evidence of MFC/PIC in eyes with pathologic myopia appeared to be a risk factor for the development of macular neovascularization.