Aim: To describe clinical findings in patients with sudden decrease of visual functions according to the solar maculopathy appearance after watching the partial solar eclipse and results of the changes follow-up after 7 weeks.
Material and methods: Medical records of five women (6 eyes) with solar maculopathy associated with watching partial solar eclipse on March 20th, 2015 were retrospectively evaluated. The diagnosis of solar maculopathy was established according to the medical history, ophthalmologic examination of the fundus in artificial mydriasis, and confirmed by means of spectral domain optic coherence tomography examination of the macula. The follow-up period of the patients in the study group was 7 weeks.
Results: All patients described the presence of relative central scotoma and decrease of the central visual acuity (VA) of different extension in the involved eye. The average best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of women in our group was 6/9 (range, 6/6 partially - 6/18). In one patient, the involvement was bilateral, in the other cases the involvement was unilateral. The biomicroscopic examination of the fundus revealed yellowish to yellow-whitish lesions with brightness of the pigment layer in the center of the foveola in all patients. The optic coherence tomography examination of the macula confirmed the irregularities of the retinal pigment layer and photoreceptors outer segment with hyper-reflective focus of the neuroretina in the center of the foveola.
Conclusion: During the follow-up period, we recorded improvement of the central visual acuity in all women with unilateral involvement. In the woman with bilateral retinal involvement, the best-corrected visual acuity of the right eye remains without any improvement. The optic coherence tomography examination after 7 weeks shows regression of the findings in three eyes. In all other cases, slight structural changes in the center of the macula persist.