Arteriovenous anastomoses of the retina.

The authors reviewed the clinical findings in 13 patients followed at Montefiore Medical Center and in 85 cases described in the literature with primary arteriovenous communication of the retina (AVCR). The characteristics of AVCR include: young age at detection; both sexes affected; detected on routine examination, and less frequently after decreased vision or referral after diagnosing systemic arteriovenous communication (AVC); unilateral involvement; single or multiple sites in the same fundus; and predilection for the papillomacular area and the superotemporal quadrant. Vision correlated inversely with the grade of AVCR. The presence of concomitant systemic AVC correlated directly with the grade of AVCR. It is concluded that grade I AVCR and the majority of grade II AVCR represent isolated retinal vascular anomalies, and there is no need for extensive search for systemic AVC if these patients remain asymptomatic.