Background: Solar maculopathy (SM) is a rare cause of acquired maculopathy related to direct viewing of the sun. Primary symptoms include central scotomata, blurred vision and/or metamorphopsia due to thermal/photochemical damage to foveal photoreceptors.
Methods: Patients were identified from clinic records surrounding a solar eclipse. Clinical examination and multimodal retinal imaging were performed at each follow-up visit. Informed consent was provided by each patient for publication of anonymized data.
Results: Seven affected eyes of 4 patients (mean 21.75 years, all female) were identified with mean presenting visual acuity (VA) of LogMAR 0.18. Well-defined photoreceptor ellipsoid zone (EZ) defects were identified on optical coherence tomography (OCT) for all eyes. VA improved for all eyes (median 12 letter improvement) over a mean 5.7-year follow-up (range 5 months to 11 years).
Conclusions: While no effective treatment has been identified for SM, VA can significantly improve in some cases, but persistent scotomata are reported and may be debilitating; thus, prevention by public health measures remains critical.
Keywords: Natural history; Optical coherence tomography; Solar maculopathy; Solar retinopathy.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.