[Decreased visual acuity from optic disc drusen].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the visual acuity in patients with optic disc drusen and its relationship with the existence of superficial drusen.


METHODS
For a six-year period (from 1997 to 2003), fifty-five patients (100 eyes) with optic disc drusen, confirmed with B- echography, were diagnosed. According to their ophthalmoscopic appearance under 20 degrees retinography, the drusen were classified as hidden or visible. We evaluated the best corrected visual acuity. When the visual acuity was less than 0.8, other additional causes of visual impairment were studied.


RESULTS
The average visual acute in patients with papillary drusen was 0.82 (maximum 1.2 and minimum 0.05). Lower visual acute was found in those patients with visible drusen. Visual acute was statistically worse (p = 0.016) as the number of drusen increased. The visual acute was normal in 75 cases. The decreased visual acute was exclusively secondary to drusen in 5 cases. In the other 20 patients concomitant causes of visual impairment were found.


CONCLUSIONS
A decreased visual acute secondary to drusen is unusual. When present, it is usually moderate and associated with disturbances of the peripheral visual field. There is a significant relationship between the decrease in visual acute and the number of visible drusen. When the central vision is decreased, but not the visual field, other concomitant conditions that could also affect the vision, should be ruled out.
Gili Manzanaro
P
P
Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón, Unidad de Oftalmología, Madrid, España. pgili@fhalcorcon.es
Yangüela Rodilla
J
J
Rodríguez Caravaca
G
G
Carrasco Font
C
C
Martín Rodrigo
J C
JC
Arias Puente
A
A
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015594:Optic Disk Drusen / Q000150:complications*; D014792:Visual Acuity