DIMINUTIVE PARACENTRAL ACUTE MIDDLE MACULOPATHY LESION

To describe a transient positive scotoma and corresponding optical coherence tomography (OCT) structural and angiographic findings.

The patient was evaluated with a comprehensive ophthalmic examination to include OCT structural and angiographic imaging with two different instruments, the Zeiss Plex Elite and the Optovue RTVue XR Avanti.

A 45-year-old man had a sudden onset of a positive scotoma in the visual field of the left eye. No abnormalities were noted by ophthalmoscopy or fundus photography. Optical coherence tomography angiography was performed to evaluate the macular perfusion status. With each instrument, a small hyperreflective area, 175 μm in diameter, was imaged in the inner nuclear layer. The OCT angiographic images suggested a small area of decreased perfusion in the deep capillary plexus. Except for the diminutive size, the lesion had an appearance suggestive of paracentral acute middle maculopathy. The symptoms lessened rapidly, and when examined 4 days later, the lesion was less hyperreflective. Two weeks after presentation, the positive scotoma was not present and there was no longer any hyperreflectivity in the inner nuclear layer.

Detection of the lesion was aided by using OCT angiographic scans, which have a much higher scan density than conventional OCT evaluations. The diminutive abnormality was consistent with a paracentral acute middle maculopathy lesion, although smaller than those previously reported. Micro-paracentral acute middle maculopathy lesions should be considered in the differential diagnosis of positive scotomas.