A fluorescein angiographic study on carbon disulfide retinopathy among workers in viscose rayon factories

In order to clarify the pathogenesis of carbon disulfide retinopathy, fluorescein fundus angiograms were analyzed for 143 workers exposed to CS2 and 40 unexposed workers (reference) from viscose rayon factories. Retinal abnormalities, characterized by saccular microaneurysms, ellipsoidal microaneurysms and loop formation of small vessels, and atrophic/degenerative changes of pigmentary epithelium, were found in workers exposed to CS2. Saccular microaneurysms were found in 45.5% of the CS2 workers and 7.5% of the reference workers (P less than 0.05). Ellipsoidal microaneurysms or loop formation were found in 14.0% of the CS2 workers and 5.0% of the reference workers. Atrophic/degenerative changes of the pigmentary epithelium were found in 32.9% of the CS2 workers and 15.0% of the reference workers (P less than 0.05). Significant correlations were found between the prevalence of these retinal abnormalities and the CS2 exposure index.