[Clinical correlation between rubeosis iridis and optic disc neovascularization (author's transl)]

Clinical findings and fluorescein angiographies of 293 eyes affected with proliferative diabetic retinopathy were reviewed with the specific aim of looking for a possible correlation between rubeosis iridis and the localization of the new vessels in the ocular fundus. In this series there was a highly significant correlation between rubeosis iridis and optic disc new vessels. Rubeosis iridis was present in 49% of the eyes with optic disc new vessels against only 5.5% of the eyes with retinal new vessels not associated with optic disc new vessels. Among the 97 eyes affected with rubeosis iridis, 91 (93.8%) had also optic disc neovascularization. This clinical correlation allows for predicting which of the eyes affected with proliferative diabetic retinopathy are at a high risk of developing rubeosis iridis. In addition to this, this clinical correlation leads to the hypothesis that there is uveal hypoxia associated to retinal hypoxia in those eyes with rubeosis iridis. Thus iris new vessels may result from uveal hypoxia rather than from retinal hypoxia.