Long-term follow-up of acute zonal occult outer retinopathy.

BACKGROUND: Acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR) was described by Gass in 1992 as an independent posterior uveitis characterized by photopsias and rapid visual field zonal loss, with 70% of cases stabilizing within 6 months, although there is a paucity of long-term documentation of AZOOR cases.

METHODS: The authors reported the case of a 55-year-old woman diagnosed with AZOOR and followed for 13 years.

RESULTS: Best-corrected visual acuity at baseline was 20/60 in her right eye and 20/25 in her left eye, with an annular peripapillary area of irregular retinal thickening and temporal visual field loss in both eyes. Over her 13-year follow-up, best-corrected visual acuity dropped to 20/60 in both eyes and visual field loss because of chorioretinal atrophy progressed significantly. Antiviral and immunomodulatory drugs did not halt this progression.

CONCLUSION: The prognosis of cases with AZOOR should be cautiously considered. The authors showed that in the long term, chorioretinal atrophy may lead to severe visual field loss in patients with AZOOR.