Advantages of optical coherence tomography in assessing retinal astrocytic hamartomas in children with tuberous sclerosis complex.

PURPOSE: Retinal astrocytic hamartomas (RAHs) are benign tumors that are mostly associated with a rare systemic disorder called tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). In the clinical diagnosis of TSC, RAH has been recognized as a major feature that supports a definite diagnosis. Here, 60 patients (120 eyes) with TSC underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination and multimodality imaging using fundus photographs, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and infrared images.

METHODS

Admission SD-OCT data were retrieved and utilized for analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to calculate the cutoff value.

RESULTS

A total of 117 hamartomas were detected in 45 patients, with a mean age of 12 years. On OCT imaging, RAHs appeared as gentle or protruding lesions of varying heights (mean thickness 314 mm, ranging between 71 and 974 mm).

CONCLUSION

For RAHs that could not be detected on fundus photographs or by ophthalmoscopy, OCT demonstrated excellent capability in revealing these lesions, particularly smaller tumors (MT < 271 mm). These results suggest that OCT can improve the detection of hamartomas and contribute to the diagnosis of TSC.