Wide‐Field Angiography in the management of retinal vasculitis

Purpose To study the value of Wide‐Field angiography in the management of patients with retinal vasculitis. Methods A total of 48 eyes of 24 patients with systemic vasculitis underwent complete ophthalmic exam, followed by wide‐field retinal angiography ( WF ‐ FA ) with the Heidelberg Angiograph SLO using the Staurenghi contact lens. The primary outcome was diagnosing the extent of retinal vasculitis ( RV ) and monitoring disease activity. The secondary outcome was the percentage of patients whose management changed, based on the availability of WF – FA . Results WF ‐ FA assisted in revealing retinal vasculitis in 5 of 24 patients (20.8%), in 2 cases retinal vasculitis was not clinically evident. The extent was quantified in the 5 patients and the disease activity monitored in 3 patients. Three of 24 patients (12.5%) had management change: planning medical treatment or laser photocoagulation. Conclusions WF ‐ FA is a valuable technology in the management of patients with systemic vasculitis and can be used for the diagnosis, treatment and follow up of retinal vasculitis.