Ocular involvement in primary antiphospholipid syndrome

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ocular findings in patients with the primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients (44 eyes) with primary APS (17 women, 5 men) were examined. All patients were younger than 50 years (median age; 37.5 years). In 18 patients, fundus flourescein angiography was performed in addition to the ophthalmologic examination. Results: Sixteen patients (72.7%) described visual symptoms. Anterior segment was normal in 19 patients (86.4%). Posterior segment abnormalities were observed in 15 patients (68.2%). Venous dilatation and tortuosity were the most common ocular findings. Retinal vascular occlusive disease was detected in 5 patients (22.7%). Flourescein angiography abnormalities were noted in 14 of the 18 patients (77.8%). The most common angiographic finding was pigment epithelial window defects. Conclusions: Our results indicate that posterior eye segment involvement is relatively common in the primary APS. It also seems that the screening for APS is important in young patients with retinal vascular occlusion, especially in those without conventional risk factors. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.