Hedayatfar Alireza, Khorasani Maryam Ashraf, Behnia Mehdi, Sedaghat Ahad
Eye Research Center, Rassoul Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Noor Ophthalmology Research Center, Noor Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2020 Feb 2;15(1):53-58. doi: 10.18502/jovr.v15i1.5944. eCollection 2020 Jan-Mar.
To study the seasonal variability in the occurrence of acute retinal necrosis (ARN) in a series of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive patients.
Consecutive patients clinically diagnosed with ARN and a positive PCR result of aqueous humor during a seven-year period were studied retrospectively. Patients' demographics, causative viral agent(s), and the date of disease onset were extracted from medical records.
Twenty eyes of 20 patients were enrolled; the mean age at presentation was 39.6 14.4 (range, 6-62) years. Nine patients were female. The most common causative agent was varicella-zoster virus in 16 patients (80%), followed by herpes simplex virus in two patients (10%). The disease onset was in winter in 10 patients (50%), and the highest incidence was in February (five patients, 25%). The cumulative occurrence of ARN was significantly higher in the first half of the year (winter and spring) compared to the second half of the year (summer and fall) ( = 0.030). In general, seasons with a high incidence of ARN were preceded by cold seasons.
In our series, we observed seasonal variability in the incidence of ARN, with the highest incidence during winter and spring. However, further epidemiologic studies in different geographical areas are required to elucidate the true seasonal nature of ARN.
研究一系列聚合酶链反应（PCR）阳性患者急性视网膜坏死（ARN）发病的季节性变化。
回顾性研究连续7年临床诊断为ARN且房水PCR结果呈阳性的患者。从病历中提取患者的人口统计学信息、致病病毒种类及发病日期。
纳入20例患者的20只眼；就诊时的平均年龄为39.6±14.4（范围6 - 62）岁。9例为女性。最常见的致病原为水痘 - 带状疱疹病毒，共16例患者（80%），其次为单纯疱疹病毒，共2例患者（10%）。10例患者（50%）发病于冬季，发病率最高的月份为2月（5例患者，25%）。与下半年（夏季和秋季）相比，ARN的累积发病率在上半年（冬季和春季）显著更高（P = 0.030）。一般来说，ARN高发季节之前是寒冷季节。
在我们的研究系列中，观察到ARN发病率存在季节性变化，冬季和春季发病率最高。然而，需要在不同地理区域进行进一步的流行病学研究以阐明ARN真正的季节性特征。
