FOVEAL EXUDATE AND CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULARIZATION IN ATYPICAL CASES OF MULTIPLE EVANESCENT WHITE DOT SYNDROME

Purpose: To describe atypical cases of multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) associated with foveal exudation, increased choroidal thickness, and secondary Type 2 (subretinal) neovascularization. Methods: Four cases of atypical MEWDS were studied at a retina referral center. Patients underwent evaluation with multimodal retinal imaging, including fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, spectral-domain and enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (OCT). Two patients were imaged with OCT angiography. Results: Four patients (3 female, 1 male) with a median age of 23.5 years presented with acute onset, painless, decreased central vision. All cases demonstrated fundus findings consistent with MEWDS on color photography, indocyanine green angiography, fluorescein angiography, fundus autofluorescence, and structural OCT imaging. On structural OCT, all 4 patients were noted to have hyperreflective subretinal material and increased subfoveal choroidal thickness ranging from 307 mm to 515 mm. Type 2 neovascularization was diagnosed in all four patients using fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and/or OCT angiography. Two patients had poor visual acuity at the last follow-up despite resolution of characteristic clinical findings of MEWDS. Conclusion: A subset of patients with atypical MEWDS may develop persistent poor vision due to subfoveal exudation and secondary Type 2 neovascularization. Patients showing increased choroidal thickness at presentation may be more susceptible to this unusual presentation.