Aim: The aim of this article is to present the microstructural characteristics of outer retinal tubulations (ORTs) in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and to assess their predictive value for poor visual acuity.
Materials and Methods: Fifty-five eyes of 50 patients with wet AMD were examined. All subjects underwent a complete ophthalmic examination and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS v. 19.0.
Results: The median follow-up period was 8.31±8.86 months (3 to 36 months). ORTs were found in 8 (14.5%) of all examined with OCT patients. There was no statistically significant correlation between these changes and visual acuity.
Conclusion: ORTs are rarely seen in patients with exudative AMD. Their predictive value of visual acuity based on such small amount of cases could be difficult to assess.
Zweifel SA et al., “Outer Retinal Tubulation: A Novel Optical Coherence Tomography Finding,” Archives of Ophthalmology 127, no. 12 (December 14, 2009): 1596–1602, doi:10.1001/archophthalmol.2009.326.
C. A. Curcio, N. E. Medeiros, and C. L. Millican, “Photoreceptor Loss in Age-Related Macular Degeneration,” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 37, no. 7 (June 1996): 1236–49.
A. H. Milam and S. G. Jacobson, “Photoreceptor Rosettes with Blue Cone Opsin Immunoreactivity in Retinitis Pigmentosa,” Ophthalmology 97, no. 12 (December 1990): 1620–31.
W. Tulvatana et al., “Photoreceptor Rosettes in Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa with Reduced Penetrance,” Archives of Ophthalmology (Chicago, Ill.: 1960) 117, no. 3 (March 1999): 399–402.
D. H. Anderson et al., “Morphological Recovery in the Reattached Retina,” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 27, no. 2 (February 1986): 168–83.
Rui Hua et al., “The Occurrence and Progression of Outer Retinal Tubulation in Chinese Patients after Intravitreal Injections of Ranibizumab,” Scientific Reports 5 (2015): 7661, doi:10.1038/srep07661.
C. A. Curcio, N. E. Medeiros, and C. L. Millican, “Photoreceptor Loss in Age-Related Macular Degeneration,” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 37, no. 7 (June 1996): 1236–49.
Joo Yong Lee et al., “Outer Retinal Tubulation in the Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT),” Ophthalmology 121, no. 12 (December 2014): 2423–31, doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.06.013.
