Indocyanine green angiographic findings in Behcet disease

Background: The authors studied indocyanine green (ICG) angiographic featur es in proven cases of ocular Behcet disease. Methods: Twenty-six patients (18 male, 8 female; mean age 39.9 +/- 8.9 year s) with Behcet disease underwent simultaneous ICG and fluorescein angiograp hy (FA) according to a uveitis angiographic standard protocol. Patients wer e divided into three groups based on their ocular disease duration: Group A (9 patients), less than 3-year duration; Group B (8 patients), 4- to IO-ye ar duration; Group C (9 patients), more than IO-year duration. The relation between ICG angiographic findings and ocular disease duration and FA signs was delimited. Results: Three findings were disclosed by ICG angiography: 1) poorly define d areas of intermediate and late hyperfluorescence (50% of eyes); 2) well-d efined hypofluorescent areas becoming isofluorescent in the late phase (26. 92% of eyes); and 3) large, poorly defined hypofluorescent areas visible up to the late phase (30.77% of eyes). The presence of ICG hypofluorescent ar eas up to the late phase was related to disease duration (P = 0.01), wherea s ICG hypofluorescent areas becoming isofluorescent in the late phase were predominant in patients in early stages of ocular disease (P = 0.02). The p resence or absence of FA signs did not indicate any significant correlation with the presence or absence of signs revealed by ICG angiography. Conclusion: Indocyanine green angiography enabled the identification of dif ferent choroidal abnormalities related to the ocular disease duration. The presence of some ICG findings undetectable with FA suggests that ICG and FA are complementary means to diagnose and monitor ocular vascular involvemen t in patients with Behcet disease.