Systematic review of Purtscher’s and Purtscher-like retinopathies

PURPOSE: (1) To describe the clinical characteristics of Purtscher and Purtscher-like retinopathies, including etiologies, fundoscopic signs, results of complementary investigation, treatments, and outcomes. (2) To compare visual acuity (VA) of patients receiving corticosteroids for PuR compared with observation. METHODS: Systematic review of several databases (1980–2010): Medline, EMBASE, ISI, EBSCO, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Study selection criteria included: (A) Studies of PuR with ophthalmology assessments; (B) ≥3 of 5 diagnostic criteria of PuR; (C) Quantified VA at presentation. For quantitative assessment (purpose 2), we selected only studies that reported whether corticosteroids were administered, and with vision assessments after at least 1 month. RESULTS: (1) From 670 studies initially found, 40 were included (68 cases, 110 eyes): 1 prospective, 5 case series, and 34 case reports. Mean VA at presentation was 1.3 logMAR (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) (<20/200; range: 20/20-light perception). Purtscher flecken were underreported. Trauma and acute pancreatitis were the most frequent etiologies. There were six deaths, all with systemic associations. (2) There was no statistically significant difference between VA improvement for patients treated with corticosteroids compared with observation. Visual prognostic factors identified included etiology (pancreatitis and trauma were associated with higher probability of visual improvement) and male gender. CONCLUSION: Due to limitations of case reports and series, the presented data are only useful as broad characterizations of the clinical course of PuR. Further studies, possibly including trials to assess the effectiveness of corticosteroids use, and larger prospective cohort studies, are necessary, but may not be feasible to conduct

Screening for age-related macular degeneration using nonstereo digital fundus photographs.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease with significant visual morbidity and accounts for the majority of blind registrations in the developed world including the UK. Certain forms of neovascular AMD are amenable to treatment but require expeditious referral to a retinal specialist. AIM: To evaluate the possibility of using nonstereo fundus photographs as a low-cost screening tool for neovascular AMD. DESIGN: Retrospective review of patients referred to the macular clinic of a teaching hospital in London. METHODS: A total of 198 randomised digital fundus photographs, without any other clinical information, were presented to two independent ophthalmic interns who graded them into one of the three categories: normal, age-related maculopathy (ARM), or neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to determine the urgency of referral to clinic. The results were compared with the known diagnosis for each patient and sensitivities and specificities for each diagnostic category calculated. RESULTS: The intraobserver Kappa statistic was 0.75 and 0.91 for grader 1 and 2, respectively. The interobserver Kappa was 0.54. The mean sensitivity and specificity for the identification of ARM was 60.5 and 76.3%, respectively The mean sensitivity and specificity for the identification of AMD was 85.7 and 78.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Nonstereo digital fundus photograph is a reasonable screening tool for CNV and may aid in decreasing the visual morbidity it causes by enabling timely referrals and treatment