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Published on: June 29, 2013
Color Doppler imaging of eyes with persistent fetal vasculature
Meira Neudorfer1, Michael Waisbourd, Sharon Buzi
1Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv medical center, 6 Weizmann Street, Tel Aviv, 64239, Israel. meiraneu@netvision.net.il
Insights
Color Doppler imaging (CDI) helps diagnose persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) in children. This noninvasive tool visualizes blood flow, aiding diagnosis when other methods are uncertain.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Medical Imaging
- Pediatric Eye Diseases
Background:
- Persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) presents a diagnostic challenge in pediatric ophthalmology.
- PFV can be misdiagnosed as retinoblastoma, necessitating accurate diagnostic tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of color Doppler imaging (CDI) for diagnosing persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) in pediatric patients.
- To assess CDI's role in differentiating PFV from other ocular conditions.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 20 eyes from 17 children diagnosed with PFV.
- Color Doppler imaging (CDI) was performed on all affected eyes.
- Diagnosis of PFV was confirmed through clinical findings, imaging (ultrasound, CT, MRI), intraoperative observations, and histopathology.
Main Results:
- Blood flow within the persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) was detected in 19 out of 20 eyes using CDI.
- CDI demonstrated characteristic vascular patterns associated with PFV.
Conclusions:
- Color Doppler imaging (CDI) is a valuable noninvasive tool for diagnosing persistent fetal vasculature (PFV).
- CDI provides crucial information about blood flow, supporting PFV diagnosis in ambiguous cases.
- The findings support the integration of CDI into the diagnostic workup for suspected PFV in children.
Background:
Eyes with persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) may be mistaken for retinoblastoma and provide a diagnostic challenge.
Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate the role of color Doppler imaging (CDI) in children with persistent fetal vasculature.
Materials And Methods:
Eyes with a diagnosis of PFV were evaluated by CDI.
Results:
Twenty eyes of 17 children were included. All had a confirmed diagnosis of PFV based on one or more of the following: clinical findings on funduscopy, characteristic findings on imaging modalities (ophthalmic gray-scale US, CT and/or MRI), typical findings observed intraoperatively, and histopathological analysis (after enucleation in one case). Blood flow within the PFV was demonstrated in 19 eyes in this series.
Conclusion:
CDI is a noninvasive diagnostic tool that may add useful information on the presence of blood flow within the PFV and may substantiate the diagnosis of PFV in cases of uncertainty.
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