Choroidal neovascularization in children: Etiology, diagnosis, and clinical manifestations

Abstract

Few studies have analyzed choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in children because of the low incidence of this complication in pediatric ophthalmology. However, given the significant effect on visual acuity and diagnostic difficulties in children, the study of this complication is relevant.
 AIM: This study aimed to analyze the etiological structure and clinical features of CNV in children.
 MATERIAL AND METHODS: From 2014 to 2022, 61 eyes of 54 children (26 girls and 28 boys) had CNV. The patients underwent standard ophthalmologic examination and optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) of the macular zone and optic disc using the RS-3000 Advance 2 Tomograph (Nidek, Japan).
 RESULTS: At the time of CNV diagnosis, the children were 5–17 years old, with a mean of 11±3 years. In 30 children (55.6%), CNV was caused by inflammatory lesions of the retina and choroid. Of these cases, 11 occurred during remission, whereas 21 occurred alongside pathologies of the retina, choroid, and optic nerve of noninflammatory genesis (8 of which were associated with Best’s disease). In three children, CNV was considered idiopathic. The development time of postinflammatory CNV ranged from 1 month to 12 years, with an average of 7.3±5 months from disease onset. Type 2 CNV was found in most cases (48 eyes, 78.7%).
 CONCLUSION: CNV is a rare complication of various ocular diseases in children. In our cohort, it was most frequently observed in children with inflammatory lesions of the retina and choroid, even during remission. Patients at risk of CNV must be actively monitored because it occurs in various forms.