Visual dysfunction without retinitis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-15-1992
Abstract
Patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection may have noninfectious and infectious retinopathies, as well as clinical symptoms consistent with optic nerve dysfunction. Noninfectious acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related retinopathy is seen in most patients with AIDS. Morphologic studies have shown that the number of retrobulbar optic nerve fibers in patients with AIDS is decreased compared to the number of optic nerve fibers in normal control eyes. To determine whether these patients had a visual dysfunction consistent with damage to the macula and optic nerve, 78 subjects (156 eyes) were studied using color-vision and contrast-sensitivity testing. The Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue color-vision test was performed on all subjects and age-corrected color-vision scores for all groups were compared. A significant decrease in color discrimination was found in the patients with AIDS (P less than .001). Contrast-sensitivity testing disclosed a deficit of contrast threshold in patients with AIDS at four of five spatial frequencies and in patients with AIDS-related complex at three of the five spatial frequencies examined. This study demonstrated a functional visual deficit in eyes without retinitis consistent with dysfunction of the macula or optic nerve in patients with AIDS.
Volume
113
Issue
1
First Page
8
Last Page
13
ISSN
0002-9394
Published In/Presented At
Quiceno, J. I., Capparelli, E., Sadun, A. A., Munguia, D., Grant, I., Listhaus, A., Crapotta, J., Lambert, B., & Freeman, W. R. (1992). Visual dysfunction without retinitis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. American journal of ophthalmology, 113(1), 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9394(14)75745-9
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
1728151
Department(s)
Department of Medicine
Document Type
Article