Retinal cystoid spaces in acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
Exudative retinal detachment in acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome often is associated with subfoveal yellowish round structures. This report describes the incidence and clinical characteristics of these structures.


METHODS
Interventional case series.


METHODS
We reviewed the fundus photographs and medical records of 35 eyes of 19 Japanese patients with bilateral diffuse choroiditis at the onset of acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.


RESULTS
All eyes showed subretinal fluid in the posterior pole. In addition, yellowish round structures were seen in 15 eyes (43%). Most of the yellowish structures were subfoveal in location and ranged in size from less than 1 disk diameter to 3 disk diameters. In 6 eyes with these structures, optical coherence tomography showed liquid accumulation in the retina or thin walls, which seemed to separate the cystoid spaces from the subretinal fluid. Late-phase fluorescein angiography showed pooling of dye within these structures as well as within the subretinal fluid. Immediately after corticosteroid administration was initiated, these structures began to be less obvious, and they disappeared completely within several days; there was a concomitant reduction in the subretinal fluid. At the initial visit, visual acuity in eyes with these yellowish structures was slightly less than that in eyes without them, but no differences in visual acuity were found during the period of follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Subfoveal yellowish round structures may be a common feature in acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome. However, they appear to have only a minor (if any) effect on visual prognosis.
Tsujikawa
Akitaka
A
Department of Ophthalmology, Kobe City General Hospital, Kobe, Japan. tujikawa@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Yamashiro
Kenji
K
Yamamoto
Kaoruko
K
Nonaka
Atsushi
A
Fujihara
Masashi
M
Kurimoto
Yasuo
Y
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001826:Body Fluids; D002833:Choroiditis / Q000150:complications; D003560:Cysts / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014607:Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
D005938:Glucocorticoids