Evaluation of retinal morphology of canine sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome using optical coherence tomography and fluorescein angiography

Purpose: To describe the optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography changes in dogs with sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS).

Methods: Retinal OCT was performed on 10 SARDS dogs and eight control dogs. Tomograms were collected in four quadrants around the optic nerve. Measurements were collected from the photoreceptor layer, the outer nuclear layer, the outer retina, the inner retina and the whole retina thickness in all quadrants. Sodium fluorescein was injected intravenously and serial fundic photographs were collected for a 5 minute period post-injection.

Results: In all quadrants, the outer nuclear layer (dorsal temporal P = 0.0000, dorsal nasal P = 0.0001, ventral temporal P = 0.0002, ventral nasal P = 0.000) and outer retina (dorsal temporal P = 0.0001, dorsal nasal P = 0.0002, ventral temporal P = 0.0054, ventral nasal P = 0.0084) measurements were significantly decreased in SARDS dogs. The whole retina thickness was significantly decreased in the dorsal temporal (P = 0.0082) and ventral temporal (P = 0.0428) retina. There were no significant differences in the photoreceptor layer thickness or inner retinal thickness between SARDS and control dogs. All SARDS dogs had a loss of definition of all of the photoreceptor bands on OCT. Two SARDS dogs had multifocal small retinal detachments and one of these dogs exhibited fluorescein leaking at the detachment sites.

Conclusions: The significant reduction in the outer nuclear layer and the loss of band signals in the photoreceptor layers in dogs with SARDS identified on OCT support the previous histopathology findings. Small detachments may occasionally be detected on OCT and they may leak fluorescein.