Fluorescein angiography in hypertensive pregnancies.

A retrospective study in two university hospitals investigating retinal changes in pregnancies complicated by hypertension, seldom revealed retinal vascular changes in pre-eclamptic toxemia. Fluorescein angiography was performed on 16 severe pre-eclamptic toxemias and 14 chronic hypertension pregnancies. Normal caliber retinal vessels and normal filling time, with no subretinal or subepithelium leakage, was found in all pre-eclamptic toxemic patients. Four out of the 14 chronic hypertensive patients showed signs of mild hypertensive retinopathy. A review of the literature on fluorescein angiography in pregnancy showed that vascular changes in pre-eclamptic toxemia are choroidal rather than retinal.