Fundus autofluorescence imaging in White Dot Syndromes

Summary The term ‘white dot syndromes’ (WDS) refers to several inflammatory diseases of the retina and choroid caused by immune dysregulation. Retinal and choroidal changes observed with multimodal imaging are transient and may disappear quickly in some cases. Multimodal imaging with color fundus photography, fluorescein, indocyanine green angiographies, spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography help in identifying the diagnosis. They also help assess the level of inflammatory activity and detect complications. Fundus autofluorescence (AF) imaging is an in vivo imaging method that allows a metabolic mapping of natural or pathological fundus fluorophores. Blue fundus AF imaging is obtained with a confocal laser scanning ophthalmoscope using an excitation short wavelength (SW) at 488 nanometers. In this work, SW‐AF imaging was obtained using a HRA Heidelberg instrument. SW‐AF imaging is an important, non invasive and complementary technique that helps early diagnosis and follow‐up of WDS. The characteristics of the SW‐AF abnormalities are often pathognomonic of each inflammatory disease. Further prospective studies including more patients will be necessary to confirm these results.