Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) and Coats’ disease, both pediatric retinal diseases that involve the peripheral retina, can be evaluated in the physician’s office using ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWFFA). As reported in Journal of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, a retrospective review of 8 patient cases confirmed the utility of UWFFA in targeting laser photocoagulation, administered in an outpatient setting without the use of anesthesia. Furthermore, as has been shown in adults, UWFFA revealed peripheral retinal pathology, that can be difficult or impossible to visualize with conventional imaging techniques. The investigators concluded that UWFFA is useful in identifying peripheral retinal pathologies in pediatric patients, guiding management, which may potentially reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment.
Kang KB, Wessel MW, Tong J, D’Amico DJ, Chan P. Ultra-widefield imaging for the management of pediatric retinal diseases. JPediatric Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2013. [Epub ahead of print]
Optos UWF™ image of the right eye of a 41 week old infant who had persistent threshold disease (stage 3 zone 2 ROP with plus disease) despite previous laser therapy.
Clinical Point-of-View
“The availability of Optos UWF imaging is helping us improve the diagnosis and management of pediatric retinal disease, in both babies and older children. With these systems we can now readily obtain non-contact, single-pass high resolution digital images of the macula and periphery in an outpatient setting without the use of anesthesia or intravenous fluorescein. Even with patients who would not be able to cooperate with conventional imaging techniques, UWF imaging permits the identification of pathology in the periphery we might otherwise have missed and can help target laser photocoagulation. We are very interested in continuing our clinical evaluation of UWF in pediatric patients, including its potential role in telemedicine programs.”
Chetan K. Patel, FRCOphth
Oxford Eye Hospital, John Radcliffe Hospital
Oxford, United Kingdom