UTILITY OF ULTRA-WIDEFIELD RETINAL IMAGING FOR THE STAGING AND MANAGEMENT OF SICKLE CELL RETINOPATHY.

Abstract

To determine whether ultra-widefield (UWF) retinal imaging changes the staging or management of sickle cell retinopathy compared with clinical examination. Prospective, observational study including patients with sickle cell disease. All patients underwent dilated fundus examination by a fellowship-trained retina specialist, as well as UWF fundus photography (FF) and fluorescein angiography (FA). Sickle retinopathy stage and treatment recommendation per eye were determined after clinical examination, UWF-FF, and UWF-FA, respectively, and differences in retinopathy stage and treatment recommendation were compared. A total of 70 eyes from 35 patients (17 women, 48.6%), mean age 30.4 years, were included. Sickle genotypes included 26 patients with sickle SS (74.3%), 7 SC (20.0%), and 2 β(+)thalassemia (5.7%). Based on examination, most eyes (42/70; 60.0%) had no visible retinopathy. Based on UWF-FF, about half of the eyes were found to be Goldberg Stage 2 or above (36/70; 51.4%). Based on UWF-FA, nearly all eyes were Goldberg Stage 2 or above (63/70; 90%). However, clinical examination reliably detected neovascularization, and in no case did the addition of UWF imaging change management relative to examination alone. Ultra-widefield imaging detects a higher stage of sickle cell retinopathy compared with clinical examination alone, but these differences may not be clinically significant.