Acute zonal occult outer retinopathy in Japanese patients: clinical features, visual function, and factors affecting visual function.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical features and investigate their relationship with visual function in Japanese patients with acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR).


METHODS
Fifty-two eyes of 38 Japanese AZOOR patients (31 female and 7 male patients; mean age at first visit, 35.0 years; median follow-up duration, 31 months) were retrospectively collected: 31 untreated eyes with good visual acuity and 21 systemic corticosteroid-treated eyes with progressive visual acuity loss. Variables affecting the logMAR values of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the mean deviation (MD) on Humphrey perimetry at initial and final visits were examined using multiple stepwise linear regression analysis.


RESULTS
In untreated eyes, the mean MD at the final visit was significantly higher than that at the initial visit (P = 0.00002). In corticosteroid-treated eyes, the logMAR BCVA and MD at the final visit were significantly better than the initial values (P = 0.007 and P = 0.02, respectively). The final logMAR BCVA was 0.0 or less in 85% of patients. Variables affecting initial visual function were moderate anterior vitreous cells, myopia severity, and a-wave amplitudes on electroretinography; factors affecting final visual function were the initial MD values, female sex, moderate anterior vitreous cells, and retinal atrophy.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicated that visual functions in enrolled patients significantly improved spontaneously or after systemic corticosteroids therapy, suggesting that Japanese patients with AZOOR have good visual outcomes during the follow-up period of this study. Furthermore, initial visual field defects, gender, anterior vitreous cells, and retinal atrophy affected final visual functions in these patients.
Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Saho
S
Saito
Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan; Department of Ocular Circulation and Metabolism, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Wataru
W
Saito
Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Michiyuki
M
Saito
Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Yuki
Y
Hashimoto
Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Shohei
S
Mori
Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan; Department of Ocular Circulation and Metabolism, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kousuke
K
Noda
Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kenichi
K
Namba
Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan; Department of Ocular Circulation and Metabolism, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Susumu
S
Ishida
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D044466:Asian People; D003710:Demography; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D012607:Scotoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014785:Vision, Ocular; D014792:Visual Acuity; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D000080363:White Dot Syndromes; D055815:Young Adult