Clinical characteristics of acute zonal occult outer retinopathy in Chinese patients.
OBJECTIVE
To review the clinical features of acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR) in Chinese patients.


METHODS
All patients with AZOOR during 2002-2004 in our hospitals were reviewed retrospectively.


RESULTS
Seven consecutive Chinese patients with AZOOR were recruited and followed up for 4-18 months. Their age ranged from 26 to 47 years and all were affected bilaterally. They were from the cities near the Pacific Ocean and were used to eating seafood. The common complaints were slightly reduced visual acuity and photopsia. At least one eye of each patient had a visual field defect or decreased local area sensitivity and one patient had bilateral blind spot enlargement. Ten in 14 eyes showed increased numbers of vitreous cells and 4 eyes had anterior chamber inflammatory cells and a keratic precipitate. In their initial examination, minimal or no fundus changes were found, only yellow-white dots or gray dots presented on the deep retina or outer retinal layer. Fundus fluorescent angiography showed large-area depigmentation and hyperfluorescein spots corresponding to fundus findings. Electroretinogram (ERG) or multifocal ERG was abnormal in all eyes with no changes in their follow-up examination. Not all of the initial diagnoses of these patients were consistent with the final ones.


CONCLUSIONS
AZOOR is not a common disease in China, but easy to misdiagnose. Female predilection, photopsia, visual field defect, ERG abnormality and minimal ophthalmoscopic changes are the common characteristics of AZOOR in Chinese patients. Living habits may play a role in the development of AZOOR.
Song
Zong-Ming
ZM
Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, China. szm@mail.eye.ac.cn
Sheng
Yan-Juan
YJ
Chen
Qing-Shan
QS
Xue
An-Quan
AQ
Lin
Bin
B
Li
Ying-Zi
YZ
Fu
Xiao-Ying
XY
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013577:Syndrome; D013997:Time Factors; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields