Indocyanine green angiographic findings in acute retinal necrosis

PURPOSE: To clarify indocyanine green (IA) angiographic features in patients with acute retinal necrosis (ARN). METHODS: Two patients with ARN were examined by fluorescein angiography (FA) and IA, and findings from both were compared. RESULTS: Fundus examination revealed widespread retinal hemorrhages and yellowish-white patches in the periphery, characteristic of ARN. In both cases, FA showed diffuse dye leakage from all retinal veins and the optic disc, and vascular obstruction in the peripheral fundus. In IA, dye leakage was localized, and extravasation of dye was evident only from the lower temporal retinal vein and the lower half of the optic disc. This pattern of indocyanine green dye leakage appeared to be continuous from the optic disc toward the lower temporal retinal vein. Also, IA clearly demonstrated choroidal vascular filling delay in one case in the early phase of the angiogram. CONCLUSIONS: While FA showed diffuse dye leakage from all retinal veins, IA identified only the retinal vessels with the most prominent vascular damage. IA also identified choroidal vascular lesions in these patients with ARN. The information obtained by IA might be useful to detect retinal vasculitis with prominent inflammation and to determine the extent of choroidal inflammation in patients with ARN.