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Immunosuppressant therapy can reduce edema in birdshot retinochoroidopathy

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Long-term immunosuppressive therapy can reduce the risk of cystoid macular edema in patients with birdshot retinochoroidopathy, according to a study.

Jennifer E. Thorne, MD, and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University reviewed the charts of 40 patients with birdshot retinochoroidopathy who had been evaluated during a 20-year period to determine visual acuity and visual field loss over the course of the treatments and to determine the incidence of ocular complications, including cystoid macular edema (CME).

In affected eyes at presentation, the frequency of CME was 20%, the frequency of vision loss to 20/50 or worse was 33%, and the frequency of vision loss to 20/200 or worse was 13%. Patients who presented with a duration of disease of more than 30 months had higher frequencies of visual impairment and CME than those with fewer than 30 months’ duration. The incidence of CME was 10% per eye-year.

Using immunosuppressive drug therapy was associated with a reduced risk of developing CME, the researchers said.

The study is published in the July issue of American Journal of Ophthalmology.