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Optical Coherence Tomography Demonstrates Subretinal Macular Edema From Papilledema
Vincent J. Hoye III, MD;
Audina M. Berrocal, MD;
Thomas R. Hedges III, MD;
Maria Luz Amaro-Quireza, OD
Arch Ophthalmol. 2001;119:1287-1290.
ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate macular changes in eyes with papilledema from increased
intracranial pressure using optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Methods Fifty-five patients with papilledema seen during 1998 and 1999 were
studied with OCT of the optic nerve and retinal nerve fiber layer. Nineteen
of these also had OCT of the macula during periods of acute, subacute, or
recurrent papilledema and were evaluated in detail for this report.
Results Seven patients had OCT evidence of subretinal fluid involving the macula.
All had some reduction in visual acuity. The subretinal fluid appeared to
arise from the peripapillary region, and all showed some improvement in central
vision as the fluid resolved.
Conclusions Subretinal fluid accumulations can cause decreased visual acuity in
patients with papilledema. Optical coherence tomography can demonstrate subretinal
fluid and can be used to follow the course of this important visual complication
of papilledema.
INTRODUCTION
LOSS OF visual acuity from papilledema or optic nerve head swelling
due to increased intracranial pressure is uncommon. The visual consequences
of papilledema usually are limited to visual field defects and enlargement
of the blind spot.1 Macular abnormalities such
as intraretinal macular edema and hemorrhage occasionally cause visual acuity
loss in papilledema.2 Well-documented cases
of subretinal macular edema in papilledema are rare in the medical literature.2-3 We used optical coherence tomography
(OCT), a new technique for imaging the retina, to evaluate the macular region
in a group of patients with acute, subacute, and recurrent papilledema.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Optical coherence tomography has been used in our clinic to measure
changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer to quantitatively follow the clinical
course of papilledema. We have also obtained images of the macular region
in many of these patients. In this study, OCT was performed using a prototype
instrument using techniques described elsewhere.4
In addition to circular scans 3.38 mm in diameter around the optic disc, horizontal
scans through the macula were obtained in some cases. In some cases the scans
were oriented to include the temporal peripapillary space and the macula in
the same section. Macular sections were evaluated for the presence of a distinct
area of absent reflectivity between the retina and choroid. Macular thickness
measurements were made from horizontal OCT sections of the retina.
We reviewed the records of 55 patients with papilledema who underwent
OCT of the retina during 1998 and 1999. Most of these patients underwent OCT
of the optic nerve and retinal nerve fiber layers. Of these, 19 also underwent
OCT of the macular regions when they had acute, subacute, or recurrent optic
disc swelling. The rest had chronic atrophic or resolved papilledema or underwent
OCT of the optic disc and retinal nerve fiber layer only and were not included
in this study. A complete neuro-ophthalmic examination was performed on each
patient, including visual acuity, color vision (using AOHRR plates), and automated
threshold visual field testing (Humphrey 30-2; Humphrey Inc, Dublin, Calif),
except 1 eye that had undergone surgical optic nerve sheath decompression
the day previously (case 3). Fluorescein angiography was performed in 2 cases
(cases 1 and 2). Lumbar punctures were obtained in all patients except one
who had cerebral hemorrhage from brain metastasis, and magnetic resonance
imaging or computed tomography was obtained in all cases.
RESULTS
There was a distinctive space underlying the retina in at least 1 eye
of 7 patients who underwent OCT of the macula during an active phase of papilledema.
In 2 cases OCT was not evaluated in 1 eye because of a toxoplasmosis scar
in one (case 2) and because of recent optic nerve sheath decompression surgery
in another (case 3). Five patients were diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial
hypertension with normal findings on neuroimaging scans and elevated opening
pressures on lumbar puncture. Two patients had brain metastases, one from
breast cancer and the other from testicular cancer. Six patients were treated
medically with acetazolamide and/or furosemide. One patient received corticosteroids
and underwent optic nerve sheath fenestration. The 5 patients with idiopathic
intracranial hypertension were followed until there was resolution of the
macular subretinal fluid and stabilization of visual acuity (Table 1).
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Findings in Patients With Subretinal Fluid From Papilledema
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All 7 patients with OCT evidence of subretinal fluid had some degree
of visual acuity loss (<20/25) or visual field loss in one or both eyes.
Visual acuities at initial examination ranged from 20/25 to 5/200. Seven of
9 eyes had initial visual acuities of 20/25 to 20/80. The remaining 5 eyes
had visual acuities between 20/200 and 5/200 (the eye with toxoplasmosis had
a visual acuity of 2/200). Of the 12 patients who had macular OCT findings
without evidence of subretinal fluid, visual acuities ranged from 20/15 to
20/20, except for 1 eye in 1 patient in which there was an altitudinal visual
field defect.
Final visual acuity, after treatment of the papilledema, ranged from
20/20 to 20/60, with 6 of 11 eyes achieving 20/30 or better. The 2 patients
with metastatic carcinoma had initial improvement and then further decline
in visual acuity during treatment (cases 6 and 7).
Optical coherence tomography in all 7 patients revealed subretinal fluid
collections posterior to the macula in at least 1 eye. The fluid collection
was present unilaterally in 1 patient (case 1). In 2 patients only 1 eye was
evaluated (cases 2 and 3). Subretinal fluid was present in both eyes in the
other patients (cases 4-7). Clinically, the foveal reflexes were ill defined
in all patients, and, in those with marked macular thickening on OCT, there
was ophthalmoscopic evidence of elevation of the peripapillary retina extending
toward the fovea (cases 5 and 6). In one case a mild amount of yellowish exudate
involving the retinal nerve fiber layer in the form of a "macular star" was
seen in both eyes (case 4). Fluorescein angiography in 2 cases showed progressive
staining of the optic discs but demonstrated that fluid was not leaking from
the retinal blood vessels or choroid (cases 1 and 2).
The thickness of the macula and underlying fluid collection in all 12
eyes studied correlated roughly with the degree of visual acuity loss. In
the 8 eyes with an initial visual acuity of 20/80 or better, the thickness
of the macula and underlying fluid layer measured 370 µm or less (normal
macular thickness is 147 ± 17 µm).4
In the 3 most severely affected eyes, the measurement of macula plus subretinal
fluid layer ranged from 510 to 670 µm (case 4, left eye; case 5, both
eyes). The eye with the worst vision (left eye, case 5) had the most fluid
present. In some cases fluid appeared confined to the macula (cases 1, 4,
and 5) (Figure 1A and C). However,
the others showed apparent communication of subretinal fluid between the macula
and the peripapillary subretinal space (cases 2, 3, 6, and 7) (Figure 1D). Visual fields showed enlarged blind spots extending
to fixation in 13 eyes tested by perimetry.
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Figure 1. A, Optical coherence tomograph
(OCT) of the macular region of the right eye (case 1). B, OCT of the macular
region of the right eye (case 1) one month after treatment. C, OCT of the
left eye (case 4) showing apparently localized subretinal fluid in the macular
region. D, OCT of the left eye (case 6) showing separation of retina between
the optic disc and the macula.
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In the 12 cases of acute, subacute, or recurrent papilledema in which
subretinal fluid was not seen on OCT of the macula, macular thickness measurements
ranged from 150 to 210 µm, and visual acuities ranged from 20/20 to
20/50. In those with increased macular thickness greater than 170 µm,
there was decreased reflectivity in the papillomacular retina on OCT, but
no definite space was seen under the retina in all but 5 eyes. Decreased visual
acuity was present in 1 of these cases in which macular thickness was 190
µm. This eye also had significant loss of visual field and a relative
afferent pupillary defect consistent with optic neuropathy.
CASE REPORT
A 30-year-old woman with a 4-month history of headache and neck pain
developed visual blurring in both eyes. Her visual symptoms consisted of dimming
of vision and difficulty with color vision. She also noticed visual phenomena
reminiscent of "splinters of glass" in her peripheral vision of both eyes.
She weighed 101 kg and was 162.5 cm tall. Corrected Snellen visual acuity
was 20/50 OD and 20/60 OS. The pupils were equal and reactive without a relative
afferent pupillary defect. Fundus examination was notable for optic nerve
edema in both eyes. A peripapillary hemorrhage was present in the right eye
(Figure 2A). The macula of each
eye showed some irregularity of the light reflex. Automated visual field testing
(Humphrey 30-2) showed enlargement of the blind spot in both eyes, an inferior
arcuate defect and a paracentral scotoma in the right eye (Figure 2B), and dense superior and inferior arcuate defects in the
left eye. Computed tomography of the head showed no abnormality. A lumbar
puncture showed an opening pressure of 23 cm H2O and normal components.
In the right eye, OCT demonstrated a space separating the retina from the
underlying choroid, suggesting subretinal fluid in the macula of the right
eye (Figure 1A). In the left eye,
OCT showed thickening of the macula but no definite subretinal space. A fluorescein
angiogram revealed no leakage of dye into the macula, only late staining of
the optic disc (Figure 2C). The
patient was treated with acetazolamide, 500 mg, 3 times daily, and furosemide,
40 mg, twice daily, for 5 weeks. Her visual acuity subsequently improved to
20/25 OU, the papilledema improved, and follow-up OCT demonstrated resolution
of the subretinal fluid in the macula of the right eye (Figure 1B).
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Figure 2. Case 1. A, Fundus photograph of
the right optic disc. B, Visual field examination of the right eye. C, Fundus
fluorescein angiogram of the right eye.
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COMMENT
Papilledema causes several different effects on the visual pathways.
Chronic papilledema can lead to progressive loss of the optic nerve fibers.5 This is associated with characteristic arcuate visual
field defects, especially in the inferior periphery, along with nerve fiber
layer loss more superiorly.6 Occasionally,
loss of central vision may be related to a sudden ischemic episode in an already
edematous nerve.7
Visual acuity is usually preserved in patients with papilledema. Macular
abnormalities that may affect vision include choroidal folds,8
hemorrhages,9-10 or macular retinal
nerve fiber layer edema.11 Retinal pigment
epithelial changes consistent with chronic macular edema may also be seen.3 Additionally, subretinal neovascular membranes may
result from papilledema.12-13
Optical coherence tomography demonstrated separation of the retina from
the underlying choroid by subretinal fluid in association with decreased visual
acuity in 7 cases. In some cases the subretinal fluid appeared to be localized
to the subfoveal region (cases 1, 4, and 5) but in others, there appeared
be continuity between the subfoveal region and the optic disc, suggesting
that the subretinal fluid came from the optic nerve heads (cases 2, 3, 6,
and 7). The absence of fluorescein accumulation in the macular region indicates
that it did not come from the retinal or choroidal vasculature. In many of
the other patients who had OCT of the retina during active papilledema in
which there was no distinct separation of the retina from the choroid, there
was thickening of the maculopapillary retina, suggesting intraretinal edema
in these cases. However, this did not seem to affect visual acuity as much
as the subretinal fluid appeared to do in the 7 patients in whom OCT showed
separation of the retina from underlying choroid.
In 6 cases, we felt that acetazolamide was appropriate initial therapy
(cases 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7). All but the 2 patients with metastatic carcinoma
responded well, showing resolution of the subretinal fluid and improvement
in visual acuity within a few weeks. One patient had more severe and acute
visual loss, and we chose optic nerve sheath fenestration in the more severely
affected eye as the primary treatment. She received acetazolamide in the postoperative
period until resolution of macular edema and papilledema occurred with restoration
of visual acuity. Carter and Seiff14 demonstrated
a similar response to optic nerve sheath fenestration in a similar patient.
Subretinal fluid in patients with papilledema was suggested by Reese15 and, more recently, by Corbett et al16
as a cause of the enlarged blind spot seen on visual field testing. This idea
is supported by histopathologic studies done in 1938 by Samuels,17
who showed that the intermediary tissue of Kuhnt can become disrupted when
there is severe optic disc swelling, allowing for fluid to travel between
the retina and the retinal pigment epithelium. Subsequent fluorescein angiography
studies suggesting this clinical phenomenon have been reported,16
although in our cases there was no fluorescence of the subretinal space. Horseradish
peroxidase studies also indicate that subretinal fluid might arise from cerebrospinal
fluid.18 Although our findings and those of
others indicate that subretinal fluid comes from the region of the optic nerve,
the exact source of subretinal fluid in papilledema remains uncertain.
We have evidence from OCT to suggest that submacular edema does indeed
occur, and, when it does, there may be a direct communication between the
subretinal space in the macular region and the swollen optic nerve. Optical
coherence tomography shows that this communication may represent an extension
of fluid from the optic nerve directly to the macula, and this fluid may cause
reduced visual acuity in some patients with papilledema. In our cases the
degree of macular thickening was greatest in those patients with the worst
visual acuity. While other macular abnormalities do occur, improvement of
visual acuity in our patients after resolution of the subretinal edema further
supports a link between visual acuity loss and the presence of subretinal
macular edema in some patients with papilledema.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Accepted for publication March 8, 2001.
Corresponding author and reprints: Thomas R. Hedges III, MD, 750
Washington St, Box 381, Boston, MA 02111.
From the Departments of Ophthalmology (Drs Hoye, Berrocal, Hedges,
and Amaro-Quireza) and Neurology (Dr Hedges), Tufts University School of Medicine,
and The New England Medical Center, Boston, Mass.
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