Coats' disease : visual outcome

Abstract EN

Objectives : To present the management of Coat's disease patients at the Ophthalmology Department of the Children Hospital, Ireland from 1991-1995.

Methods: Eleven patients are reported.

The studied features included age at diagnosis, gender and mode of presentation, length of follow-up, treatment modalities and their outcome.

Results : Ten patients had unilateral disease while one had bilateral Coats' in association with systemic abnormalities.

Average age at presentation was 11.1 years.

Follow-up averaged 6.6 years.

Retinal treatments carried out were Xenon arc photocoagulation and cryopexy (one case) and Argon laser (five cases).

Other treatments included Nd-YAG laser iridotomies (one case) and enucleation (two cases).

Vision remained unchanged in seven eyes, improved in three and worsened in two.

Conclusion: The visual outcome was not as good as that of some comparable studies.

This may be due to the late age at presentation.

The goals of treatment included not only visual improvement but also arresting the disease process and preventing rubeotic glaucoma.

Of the patients who received treatment, 66 % either stabilised or improved, in this respect the results among our series are comparable to other series.