Solar retinopathy in India: Clinical presentation and demographic distribution in 253 patients (349 eyes)

Purpose: To describe the demographics, clinical characteristics, and presentation of solar retinopathy in patients who presented to a multi?tier ophthalmology hospital network in India. Methods: This cross?sectional, hospital?based study included 3,082,727 new patients presenting to the hospital between August 2010 and December 2021. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of solar retinopathy in at least one eye were included in the study. All the data was collected using an electronic medical record system. Results: Three hundred and forty?nine eyes of 253 (0.01%) patients were diagnosed with solar retinopathy and included in the study, and 157 patients (62.06%) had a unilateral affliction. Solar retinopathy was noted to be significantly more common in males (73.12%) and adults (98.81%). The most common age group at presentation was during the sixth decade of life with 56 (22.13%) patients. They were more commonly from the rural geography (41.9%). Among the 349 eyes, 275 (78.8%) eyes had mild or no visual impairment (<20/70), which was followed by moderate visual impairment (>20/70–20/200) found in 45 (12.89%) eyes. The most commonly associated ocular comorbidity was cataract in 48 (13.75%) eyes, followed by epiretinal membrane in 38 (10.89%) eyes. The most common retinal damage seen was interdigitation zone (IZ) disruption (38.68%), followed by inner segment–outer segment (IS–OS) disruption (33.52%). Foveal atrophy was seen in 105 (30.09%) eyes. Conclusion: Solar retinopathy is predominantly unilateral and is more common in males. It usually presents during the sixth decade of life and rarely causes significant visual impairment. The most common retinal damage seen was disruption of the outer retinal layers

Solar Retinopathy with Interesting Imaging Findings. A Case Report

Solar retinopathy is an injury of the retinal photoreceptors due to excessive exposure to the solar radiation. Diagnosis of the disease is challenging and requires combination of a detailed history and imaging modalities. This case report focuses on a 55-year-old fruit picker with an irreversible central scotoma of the right eye. A diagnosis of solar retinopathy was made based on history but mainly by several imaging modalities, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), infrared (IF) imaging of the fundus and fundus autofluorescence (FAF). Electroretinogram (ERG)showed flattened and reduced waves in both scotopic and photopic response. Fundus angiography (FA) revealed no obvious telangectatic vessels. In conclusion, solar retinopathy is a disease where multimodal imaging may play an important role in the diagnosis. The condition may be irreversible thus advocating protective eyewear is mandatory in patients who are chronically exposed to the sun.

A Case of Acute Bilateral Solar Retinopathy Diagnosed with Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

PURPOSE: To report a case of acute bilateral solar retinopathy diagnosed using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). CASE SUMMARY: A 74-year-old female patient consulted for amblyopia and metamorphopsia at a local hospital. On the patient's first visit, there were no abnormal findings based on slit lamp microscope. Additional examinations were conducted since the patient complained of metamorphopsia with visual acuity and corrected vision. Fundus photography and SD-OCT examination showed symmetrical lesions near the bilateral macula. Several evaluations of the patient's medical history confirmed that the patient was exposed directly to the sun for 30 minutes. One month after the first visit, visual acuity improved but metamorphopsia remained unchanged. Lesion status could not be confirmed by fundus photography. There was no abnormal finding on fluorescence angiography. SD-OCT examination still showed bilateral symmetric disruption of the outer retina but with no significant interval change. CONCLUSIONS: In the present case, the patient with bilateral intraocular lenses who complained of acute binocular amblyopia was diagnosed accurately through SD-OCT tests for bilateral symmetric disruption on the outer retina and repetitive evaluations of patient's medical history.

A Case of Chronic Monocular Solar Retinopathy / 영남의대학술지

Solar retinopathy is a rare but well-recognized clinical entity of macular damage, caused by viewing a solar eclipse or direct sun gazing. A 21-year-old man gazed at the sun for approximately thirty seconds at noon using a monocular telescope with his left eye. Forty-eight hours after sun gazing, the patient experienced symptoms of blurred vision and central scotoma in the left eye. Eight months after sun gazing, the visual acuity decreased from 1.0 to 0.1 in the left eye and the fundus examination showed a round, yellowish-white discoid lesion at the left fovea. Fluorescein angiography showed an early window defect in the fovea of the left eye, that persisted without size change during the late phase resulting from atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium. A small, central scotoma of the left eye was also found in the visual field test. The visual acuity was unchanged at the end of a one-year follow-up period.

A Case of Solar Retinopathy

The damaging effect o flight on the eye has been recognized for centuries. Solar retinopathy is a well-recognized clinical entity of retinal damage caused by direct or indirect exposure to the sun. Symptoms of solar retinopathy include decreased vision, metamorphopsia, micropsia, and central or paracentral scotoma. Typical solar retinopathy presents clinically as a small yellowish-white foveolar lesion. The authors experienced a case of solar retinopathy which occurred in a 25-year-old female on both eyes upon gazing at the sun for 4 hours.

Experimental Model of Solar Retinopathy

In order to produce solar retinopathy, the right eyes of Strauge-Dawley albino rats were exposed to sun light(13,1500 lux) for 15 and 30 minutes respechrel(experimental groups), while the left eyes were taped to protect them from solar damages(control groups). In both experimental and control groups. We studies the lnjuries of the retina due to sun llght. The enucleated eyes ln both groups, were examined by light and electron microscopes for histopathologic changes of the retina preceded by the indirect ophthalmoscopic examination under low Illumination. Although there was no definite pathologic change in indirect ophthalmoscopic and light microscopic examinations, rather severe damage was seen at the electron microscopic level. At one day after the experiment, the inner segment of visual cells was relatively well preserved, but the other layers of the retina were markedly damaged. More severe retinal damage was seen in the 30 minute group than in the l5 minute group. At 2 weeks after the experiment, partial recovery of the whole retinal layers was observed, especially in the visual cells. At 4 weeks after experiment, the outer and inner segments of the visual cells were nearly normalized. Considering the results of the experiment, it is evedent that frequent clinical usage of indirect ophthalmoscope, surgical microscope and slit lamp biomicroscope could affect the retina and produce damage ultrastructually, even though no significant abnomalities are found by any other means.