Abstract

AIMS--Analysis of the choroidal findings in patients affected by serpiginous choroidopathy (SC). METHODS--Thirteen patients (23 eyes; 11 males and two females; age range 50-68 years; mean age 59.1 years) affected by SC were examined with fluorescein angiography (FA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA). The follow up period was 7-33 months. RESULTS--Using ICGA the disease could be divided into the following stages: (1) subclinical or choroidal stage (hypofluorescent lesions without FA evidence); (2) active stage (with ICGA and FA evidence); (3) subhealing stage (slight late hyperfluorescent lesions with ICGA, with no evidence on FA); (4) inactive or healed stage (hypofluorescent areas with ICGA and hyperfluorescent areas with FA). CONCLUSIONS--Although FA showed a clear distinction between active and healed stages, ICGA allowed a greater subdivision of the disease. In particular, ICGA allowed: (1) better staging of SC, revealing choroidal alterations when there was no ophthalmoscopic or FA evidence; (2) better identification of the active lesions which appear to be larger at the choroidal level in comparison with the corresponding retinal lesions; and (3) revealed a persistence of choroidal activity even when the signs of retinal activity had disappeared. Thus, ICGA should be a particularly useful clinical and therapeutic monitoring tool of SC.