Retinal vasculitis revealed by fluorescein angiography in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Fluorescein angiography was performed to examine retinal vascular abnormalities in five consecutive patients with inflammatory bowel disease seen during the 2 years from April 1995 to March 1997, in a university hospital. All patients showed dye leakage from retinal capillaries in the peripheral fundi of both eyes. Other ocular findings included iritis in both eyes of two patients and clinically significant macular edema in the unilateral eye of one patient. This study indicates that subclinical retinal vasculitis, revealed only by fluorescein angiography, is present in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.