Prevalence of Dark without Pressure and Angioid Streaks in Sickle Cell Disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prevalence of areas of dark without pressure (DWOP) and angioid streaks (AS) in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a consecutive series of 77 adults with SCD.

RESULTS

DWOP appeared as multiple patches in 35 of the affected eyes and as a single lesion in 3 eyes. OCT finding demonstrated the ellipsoid layer was hyporeflective in DWOP. AS were identified in six cases (3.9%) and were bilateral in five cases. The prevalence of AS was higher with increasing age, being 67% in the patients older than age 45 years.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of DWOP in adults with SCD is 25% in this study, which is higher than previously reported, and the prevalence of AS is around 4%, which is midway between prior estimates. Recognition of the clinical examination and imaging features of DWOP reduce the need for additional investigation. .