Intravitreal cellular infiltrate imaged as punctate spots by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in eyes with posterior segment inflammatory disease.

PURPOSE: To investigate the posterior segment in cases of clinically evident intraocular inflammation for punctate reflections consistent with that expected to arise from inflammatory cells.

METHODS

Patients with ocular inflammatory diseases imaged with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

There were 7 patients with mean age of 66.7 years, and the diagnosis was toxoplasmosis in 5 eyes, multiple evanescent white dot syndrome in 1 eye, and posttraumatic outer retinitis in 1 eye. At baseline, the SD-OCT showed vitreous cells as numerous punctate spots in the vitreous in all seven eyes. The SD-OCT also showed similar-sized hyperreflective dots in the retina in all seven eyes. During follow-up, reduced vitreous cellular infiltration was correlated with a decrease in the number of the punctate spots visible by SD-OCT.

CONCLUSION

Eyes with intraocular inflammation had SD-OCT images of the vitreous containing punctate spots of a size consistent with that expected from inflammatory cells. Similarly sized punctate spots were seen within the retina in regions of retinitis. Additional characterization of the optical section should permit stereological estimations of actual cell counts per unit volume.