Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2005 , Vol 8, Issue 3
CLINICAL FEATURES, RISK FACTORS AND VISUAL PROGNOSIS IN OUR PATIENTS WITH RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION
Sinan TATLIPINAR, Şükrü GÜNGEN, Cem YILDIRIM, Volkan YAYLALI, Serap ÖZDEN
Pamukkale Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Göz Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı DENİZLİ Objective: Retinal vein occlusion is one of the most common vascular disease of the retina. We aimed to investigate the clinical features and etiological factors in our patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

Patients and Methods: Sixty-six eyes of 65 patients diagnosed as RVO in our clinic between January 2002 and April 2003 were involved. All cases underwent a detailed ophthalmological examination including fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA). Detailed medical history from every patient was obtained and necessary consultations to detect possible risk factors were required. Visual acuity at presentation and last control, treatment and follow-up period were recorded.

Results: Out of 65 patients with RVO, 36 (55.4%) were female and 29 (44.6%) were male with an average age of 61.6 years. 38 eyes (57.5%) had branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), 20 (30.3%) had central RVO, 5 (7.6%) had hemispheric RVO and 3 (4.6%) had macular RVO. The most common BRVO type was upper temporal BRVO and the most common risk factor was hypertension. When all eyes with RVO were grouped into two as central and branch RVO and visual prognosis was investigated, visual acuity was observed to increase in branch RVO group while vision decreased in central RVO group with follow-up.

Conclusion: RVO is generally observed in older age group and is associated with systemic disorders, primarily with hypertension. Among our cases, upper temporal BRVO was the most common type of RVO. Keywords : Retinal vein occlusion, Risk factors, Hypertension, Visual prognosis