title: [Coagulation therapy of senile macular degenerations. I. Avascular pigment epithelium detachments].
abstract: The fluorescein angiograms and visual acuity of 74 patients with avascular pigment epithelium detachment in age-related maculopathy were studied retrospectively. Thirty patients had received photocoagulation treatment, and 44 patients had been kept under observation without treatment. With regard to initial visual acuity, age, and follow-up time the two groups were statistically similar. After a mean follow-up time of four years no significant difference was found between the two groups as regards ultimate visual acuity (P = 0.9) or in the comparison between initial and ultimate visual acuity (P = 0.7). A deterioration in visual acuity was recorded in approximately two-thirds of the patients in both groups, while one-third showed improved or unchanged vision. Only in patients with an initial visual acuity better than 0.6 could this prognosis be significantly improved by coagulation therapy (p = 0.05). Higher age at onset and longer follow-up times are both unfavorable factors as regards the prognosis and cannot be influenced by photocoagulation treatment.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsaugenklinik Essen.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pauleikhoff
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wessing
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity
vernacular_title: Koagulationstherapie seniler Makuladegenerationen. I. Avaskuläre Pigmentepithelabhebungen.