Abdolrahimzadeh Solmaz, Ciancimino Chiara, Grassi Flaminia, Sordi Edoardo, Fragiotta Serena, Scuderi Gianluca
Ophthalmology Unit, "Sapienza" University of Rome, NESMOS Department, St. Andrea Hospital, Via di Grottarossa 1035/1039, Rome, Italy.
J Ophthalmol. 2021 Jul 31;2021:5581851. doi: 10.1155/2021/5581851. eCollection 2021.
Near-infrared reflectance (NIR) is a noninvasive, contactless, and rapid in vivo imaging technique for visualizing subretinal alterations in the photoreceptor layer, retinal pigment epithelium, and choroid. The present report describes the application of this imaging method in retinal and choroidal pathologies affecting young patients where scarce cooperation, poor fixation, and intense glare sensation can result in a challenging clinical examination. A literature search of the MEDLINE database was performed using the terms "near-infrared reflectance" and "spectral-domain optical coherence tomography." Articles were selected if they described the diagnostic use of NIR in children or young adults. Of 700 publications, 42 manuscripts published between 2005 and 2020 were inherent to children or young adults and were considered in this narrative literature review. The first disease category is the phakomatoses where NIR is essential in visualizing choroidal alterations recognized as cardinal biomarkers in neurofibromatosis type 1, microvascular retinal alterations, and retinal astrocytic hamartomas. Another diagnostic application is the accurate visualization of crystals of various nature, including the glistening crystals that characterize Bietti crystalline dystrophy. Acute macular neuropathy and paracentral acute middle maculopathy represent a further disease category with young adulthood onset where NIR is not only diagnostic but also essential to monitor disease progression. A further interesting clinical application is to facilitate the detection of laser-induced maculopathy where funduscopic examination can be normal or subnormal. In conclusion, NIR imaging has a noninterchangeable role in diagnosing certain retinal diseases, especially in children and young adults where there is scarce collaboration and a lack of evident clinical findings. Moreover, this technique can reveal unique retinal and choroidal biomarkers highly specific to rare conditions.
近红外反射（NIR）是一种用于可视化光感受器层、视网膜色素上皮和脉络膜中视网膜下改变的非侵入性、非接触式快速体内成像技术。本报告描述了这种成像方法在影响年轻患者的视网膜和脉络膜病变中的应用，这些病变中患者配合度差、注视不佳以及强烈的眩光感会导致临床检查具有挑战性。使用术语“近红外反射”和“光谱域光学相干断层扫描”对MEDLINE数据库进行了文献检索。如果文章描述了NIR在儿童或年轻成年人中的诊断用途，则将其选中。在700篇出版物中，2005年至2020年间发表的42篇手稿是关于儿童或年轻成年人的，并在本叙述性文献综述中予以考虑。第一类疾病是 phakomatoses，其中NIR对于可视化被认为是1型神经纤维瘤病主要生物标志物的脉络膜改变、视网膜微血管改变和视网膜星形细胞瘤至关重要。另一个诊断应用是准确可视化各种性质的晶体，包括表征比埃蒂结晶性营养不良的闪亮晶体。急性黄斑神经病变和旁中心急性黄斑中部病变是另一类发病于年轻成年人的疾病，在这类疾病中NIR不仅具有诊断作用，而且对于监测疾病进展也至关重要。另一个有趣的临床应用是有助于检测激光诱导的黄斑病变，在这种情况下眼底检查可能正常或不正常。总之，NIR成像在诊断某些视网膜疾病方面具有不可替代的作用，尤其是在儿童和年轻成年人中，他们配合度差且缺乏明显的临床发现。此外，该技术可以揭示对罕见病症具有高度特异性的独特视网膜和脉络膜生物标志物。
