A prospective study of acute central retinal artery obstruction. The incidence of secondary ocular neovascularization.

We conducted a prospective study to determine the incidence of ocular neo-vascularization following acute central retinal artery obstruction. Only patients initially evaluated within 7 days of visual loss were eligible. Any patient with pre-existing ocular neovascularization or clinical evidence of the ocular ischemic syndrome noted at the initial evaluation was excluded. During the 18-month study, 33 consecutive patients were enrolled. Six patients subsequently developed neovascularization of the iris, an incidence of 18.2%. In these six patients, neovascularization of the iris appeared as early as 12 days to as late as 15 weeks following the artery obstructions. Five of the six patients (15.2% of the total) later developed neovascular glaucoma. Another patient in this series developed neovascularization of the optic disc without neovascularization of the iris, an incidence of 3.0%. Only two of the seven patients with ocular neovascularization had ipsilateral hemodynamically significant carotid artery disease as determined by noninvasive carotid artery testing. This study confirms results of previous retrospective studies that the incidence of ocular neovascularization after central retinal artery obstruction is higher than commonly thought. It also shows that, in the majority of cases, carotid artery disease is not responsible for the neovascularization seen after central retinal artery obstruction.

The ocular ischemic syndrome. III. Visual prognosis and the effect of treatment.

The records of fifty-two consecutive patients with the ocular ischemic syndrome seen between 1978 and 1985 were reviewed with the purpose of investigating the visual prognosis and effects of treatment. On initial presentation, 43% of affected eyes had a visual acuity of 20/20-20/50, whereas 37% were counting fingers or worse. By the end of one year, only 24% remained in the 20/20-20/50 group, while 58% were counting fingers or worse. The presence of rubeosis iridis was an indicator of poor visual prognosis. Ninety-seven percent of eyes with rubeosis had vision of counting fingers or worse at the end of one year. We were unable to demonstrate convincingly that carotid endarterectomy and superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery bypass were of benefit in stabilizing or improving vision in persons with the ocular ischemic syndrome.

Visual prognosis correlated with the presence of internal-limiting membrane in histopathologic specimens obtained from epiretinal membrane surgery.

Forty-one patients with a unilateral, macular epiretinal membrane (ERM) underwent pars plana vitrectomy and membrane peeling to improve the visual acuity. The authors retrospectively reviewed the histopathology of the vitrectomy specimen in each instance to determine whether the presence of internal-limiting membrane (ILM) had an adverse effect on visual acuity. Eleven specimens contained long segment of ILM, as determined by light microscopy. With a minimum of 6 months of follow-up, none of these 11 eyes achieved a visual acuity of better than 20/60. Of 30 eyes that did not have ILM present, 41% achieved a visual acuity of 20/60 or better. Overall, 29% of the eyes in the entire series achieved 20/60 or better visual acuity. The difference between the group with ILM versus that without ILM was statistically significant (P = 0.01). The presence of long segments of ILM within the histopathologic specimen after vitreous surgery for removal of a macular ERM appears to indicate a less favorable visual outcome.

The ocular ischemic syndrome. II. Mortality and systemic morbidity.

The cases of 52 consecutive persons with ocular ischemic syndrome (ocular symptoms and signs attributable to severe carotid artery obstruction) were studied. Followup disclosed a five year mortality of 40%. In comparison, an age and sex matched control group from the Framingham study had a five year mortality of 11%. The leading cause of death was cardiac disease (63%), while stroke was second (19%). Other associated diseases included systemic arterial hypertension (73%), diabetes mellitus (56%) and peripheral vascular disease (19%).