The incidence of retinal breaks in the presenting and fellow eyes in patients with acute symptomatic posterior vitreous detachment and their associated risk factors.

PURPOSE: To determine the incidence of retinal breaks in presenting and fellow eyes in patients with acute symptomatic posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and their associated risk factors. DESIGN: A prospective study of 101 consecutive patients presenting with acute symptomatic PVD. METHODS: The PVD status and other relevant ophthalmic findings were noted for both presenting and fellow eyes at initial presentation. Patients with PVD in the fellow eye were followed up appropriately whereas those without were invited to return for a further examination 4 years later. Data analysis was performed using general linear model and logistic regression. RESULTS: The mean age was 62 years. Seventy-six eyes had PVD in the presenting eyes, which were more myopic than their fellow eyes. Increased myopia and the presence of vitreous and/or retinal hemorrhage were associated with the presence of retinal tear(s) (P = 0.03 and P < 0.0001, respectively) at presentation. Twenty-three of the presenting eyes and 2 of the fellow eyes had have retinal break(s) at the first clinic visit. Of those, 14 eyes were found not to have a visible Weiss ring. Only 5.9% of the eyes (3 presenting eyes and 3 fellow eyes) developed delayed retinal break(s). CONCLUSIONS: Acute symptomatic PVD is a common presentation. It is essential to perform thorough examination to both presenting eye and fellow eye at initial presentation and follow-up appointments to prevent delay of treatment to retinal break(s).