Fundus autofluorescence in the diagnosis and monitoring of acute retinal necrosis

BACKGROUND: Acute retinal necrosis (ARN), a vision threatening viral retinitis, is often diagnosed and treated based on clinical findings. These clinical features have been well characterized by various imaging modalities, but not using fundus autofluorescence (FAF), a noninvasive method of evaluating the neurosensory retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) based on the detection of endogenous fluorophores. FINDINGS: A patient diagnosed with ARN was followed over a 10-month period to identify and document the fundus findings using FAF imaging. Pathological changes present at the level of the neurosensory retina and RPE in ARN can be detected and characterized using fundus autofluorescence imaging. CONCLUSIONS: The borders of disease activity in ARN correlate with high-contrast changes in autofluorescence patterns to facilitate monitoring of disease progression.