Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging of Presumed Sarcoid Retinal and Optic Nerve Nodules

To characterize nodular lesions of the retina and optic nerve with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in patients with sarcoidosis.

This is a retrospective series of 6 eyes from 5 patients with an established diagnosis of sarcoidosis, with clinically detected nodules of the optic nerve or retina. All lesions were imaged with fundus photography and SD-OCT on presentation, and followed with serial imaging after treatment with corticosteroids and/or immunomodulatory therapy.

Spectral OCT through the lesions revealed nodular hyperreflective processes obscuring the retinal layers or optic cup, with local structural changes, including subretinal and intraretinal fluid. After treatment with corticosteroids and/or immunosuppression in 4 followed patients, all lesions regressed with improvement in associated structural changes, but did not entirely disappear.

Spectral OCT can be useful in identifying lesion morphology and location, and in tracking the response to treatment in eyes with posterior-segment nodules, presumably secondary to sarcoidosis.