RETINAL DEEP CAPILLARY PLEXUS ISCHEMIA IN A CASE WITH ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID SYNDROME.

PURPOSE: To report visualization of a case of retinal deep capillary plexus ischemia with antiphospholipid syndrome.

METHODS: A 53-year-old woman was referred with a 1-week history of sudden onset of decreased vision in the right eye. Her symptoms were evaluated by clinical examination, infrared reflectance, fundus autofluorescence, fluorescein angiography, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, microperimetry, and multifocal electroretinography.

RESULTS: The patient's visual acuity on presentation was 0.4 (Snellen) in the right eye and 0.7 in the left eye. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography showed increased reflectivity of inner nuclear and inner plexiform layers of the right eye. Laboratory evaluation revealed abnormal titers of lupus anticoagulant antibodies. After 6 months, her visual acuity was finger counting at 1 m in the right eye and 0.4 in the left eye. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomographic image demonstrated a diffuse thinning of those retinal layers in the right eye. These findings are consistent with the clinical characteristics of retinal deep capillary ischemia in association with antiphospholipid syndrome.

CONCLUSION: Deep capillary ischemia has some characteristic findings, and on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, outcomes in conjunction with multimodal imaging are helpful for the diagnosis of the acute and the chronic stages of retinal deep capillary plexus ischemia.