Correlation between visual prognosis and fundus autofluorescence and optical coherence tomographic findings in highly myopic eyes with submacular hemorrhage and without choroidal neovascularization.

PURPOSE: To determine whether a significant correlation existed between the visual prognosis and fundus autofluorescence and optical coherence tomographic images in highly myopic eyes with simple macular bleeding.
METHODS: We reviewed the charts of 31 eyes of 28 patients with high myopia and simple bleeding. The patients were divided into those whose best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/32 and those with BCVA <20/32 at 6 months after absorption of the hemorrhage.
RESULTS: At 6 months, 19 eyes had BCVA ≥0.7 and 12 eyes had BCVA <0.7. In the former group, the inner segment/outer segment line of photoreceptors was intact in optical coherence tomographic images at the onset but was defective in 75% of the eyes in the latter group. At 6 months, the inner segment/outer segment defect was absent in all the eyes in the former group but was observed in 67% of the latter group. A hypoautofluorescence was present at the area of the bleeding more frequently in the poor BCVA groups.
CONCLUSION: An inner segment/outer segment defect at the onset of simple bleeding might be a useful sign to predict a limited visual recovery. The persistent hypofluorescence in fundus autofluorescence is probably caused by damage to the retinal pigment epithelium by the subretinal hemorrhage.