Different clinical profiles seen in multifocal choroiditis with panuveitis and punctate inner choroidopathy

This cross-sectional study addresses the controversial issue of whether two rare uveitis syndromes, multifocal choroiditis with panuveitis (MFCPU) and punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC), are different diseases or a single entity. The study's data supports the theory that MFCPU and PIC are separate entities.

The researchers compared the clinical characteristics of all patients seen at the Wilmer Eye Institute over an 11 ½ year period diagnosed with MFCPU (66 patients and 122 eyes) or PIC (13 patients and 22 eyes). All cases were reassessed by one of the authors. Those diagnosed with PIC were younger and more likely to have choroidal neovascularization, whereas visual acuity was worse in MFCPU subjects and structural ocular complications (like cataract, cystoid macular edema, and eperetinal membrane) and intraocular inflammation were seen only in the MFCPU group.

While this study is limited by its retrospective data collection and the small number of PIC patients, it takes the important step of a making a head-to-head comparison of patients diagnosed with MFCPU and PIC seen in the same clinic and assessed by a single investigator.