Indications and pathologic diagnoses of diagnostic chorioretinal biopsies in the province of Quebec, Canada.

OBJECTIVE

To review the clinical usefulness of chorioretinal biopsies in diagnostically undefined cases of intraocular inflammation or chorioretinal lesions.

DESIGN

Retrospective case series.

PARTICIPANTS

Seven patients who underwent chorioretinal biopsies.

METHODS

This case series included all consecutive patients who underwent chorioretinal biopsies in 2 academic tertiary care centres in the province of Quebec between 2014 and 2020.

RESULTS

A total of 7 patients were included in the study. Five patients with intraocular inflammation underwent chorioretinal biopsies to rule out an infectious or neoplastic etiology, whereas 2 patients underwent biopsies for suspicion of neoplastic chorioretinal masses. Final diagnoses included primary chorioretinal lymphoma (n = 2), toxoplasmosis (n = 1), benign choroidal mass (n = 1), nonnecrotizing granuloma (n = 1), and peripheral exudative hemorrhagic chorioretinopathy (n = 1). No specific diagnosis was defined in 1 case of panuveitis with scleritis. No postoperative complications were reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Chorioretinal biopsies clarified the diagnosis in 6 of 7 patients, including a definitive diagnosis of lymphoma in 2 patients. This is a high rate of diagnosis that also represents clinically meaningful results that influence management. Future directions include identifying patients in whom adjuvant chorioretinal biopsy would yield a high rate of diagnosis.