Natural history of retinal pigment epithelial detachments in age-related macular degeneration.

The natural history of 100 eyes of 93 patients with retinal pigment epithelial detachment (PED) and bilateral age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was retrospectively studied for a minimum of 12 months in the offices of Retina Consultants, Ltd. Detachment was defined as serous in 46 eyes, turbid in 12 eyes, hemorrhagic without evident neovascular membrane (NVM) in 20 eyes, and hemorrhagic with angiographically proven NVM in 17 eyes. Final visual results demonstrated visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in 33% of serous PED, 83% of turbid PED, and 89% of hemorrhagic PED. Despite strict inclusion criteria, 26% of serous PED developed NVM by one year and 49% of serous PED developed NVM by three years. Variables associated with NVM development in serous PED include older patient age, larger detachment size, presence of subretinal fluid at initial examination, and disciform scar in the fellow eye at presentation.