Solar maculopathy: prognosis over one year follow up

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Diseases
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Solar retinopathy, also known as solar maculopathy, affects the fovea, leading to visual impairment.
• Documenting visual acuity, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) findings, and prognosis is crucial for understanding disease progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the visual acuity, SD-OCT findings, and long-term prognosis in patients with foveal damage caused by solar retinopathy.
• To identify potential risk factors and recovery patterns in solar maculopathy.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, observational case series involving 6 patients (10 eyes) with solar maculopathy.
• Methods included visual acuity testing, refraction, fundus examination, fluorescein angiography, and SD-OCT imaging with 1-year follow-up.

Main Results:

• The mean age of patients was 16.5 years; 4 patients had bilateral involvement.
• SD-OCT revealed significant foveal pathology, including disruption of the photoreceptor ellipsoid and interdigitation zones in all affected eyes.
• 100% of eyes showed visual acuity improvement within 6 months, with 70% achieving 0.9 or better, though outer retinal holes persisted in 80% of cases.

Conclusions:

• Solar maculopathy generally has a good prognosis with significant visual recovery.
• Visual improvement stabilizes after 6 months, indicating a potential plateau in recovery.
• Young age may be a risk factor for developing solar retinopathy.