Purpose: To report on the clinical manifestations, complications, and long-term visual prognosis of patients with peripheral multifocal chorioretinitis and to search for predictors for a lower visual outcome.
Design: Retrospective consecutive observational case series.
Methods: setting: Institutional.
Patient population: 134 eyes in 69 patients with a minimum follow-up period of 5 years.
Observation procedure: Clinical characteristics were recorded as well as the visual acuity (VA) at the onset of uveitis; after 1, 5, and 10 years; and at the end of the follow-up period.
Main outcome measures: Visual acuity, clinical features and complications, required medications and surgeries.
Results: The majority of the patients were elderly women with chronic bilateral ocular involvement, who developed multiple ocular complications over time. Systemic sarcoidosis was present in 39% of patients. In addition to peripheral retinal lesions and vitritis, papillitis was present in 95% of cases. The major complications included macular edema (91%), cataract (93%), glaucoma (35%), and optic disc atrophy (25%). The treatment regimens included systemic corticosteroids and/or immunosuppressive drugs in 44% of patients, and 84% of patients required intraocular surgery. One third of the affected eyes developed VA <20/40 at 5-10 years of follow-up. VA at 1 year was the most important predictor of visual outcome at 5 and 10 years (P < .001).
Conclusions: Peripheral multifocal chorioretinitis was associated with a high prevalence of cataract, macular edema, optic disc atrophy, and glaucoma. Despite the chronic course of the disease, multiple complications, and surgical interventions, the majority of patients achieved satisfactory long-term visual acuity.
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