Purpose: To monitor perivascular sheathing during the course of retinal vasculitis by flood illumination adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy (AOO). Methods: Perivenous sheathing and venous diameters were quantitatively analyzed by semi-automatic segmentation of AOO images in 12 eyes of treatment-naive patients with retinal vasculitis. Results: The width of venous sheathing ranged from 45 to 225 µm (mean 101.0 µm ± 54.3). In 10 cases, the underlying vein showed focal narrowing (mean ± SD 14% ± 10). Focal narrowing of arteries was also present in one eye. At presentation, width of sheathing and vessel diameters were not correlated with fluorescein leakage. During follow-up, 5 eyes showed an increase in vein diameter or resolution of narrowing and in 10 eyes a thinning of vascular sheathing was observed (p= .003). Conclusions: Perivenous sheathing may be quantitatively analyzed and monitored by AOO. AOO may therefore contribute to monitor vascular sheathing during posterior uveitis.
Keywords: adaptive optics; posterior uveitis; retina; retinal vasculitis; uveitis.