Effectiveness of laser coagulation in children with Coats’ disease

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of retinal laser coagulation in children with Coats’ disease.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 118 patients who were examined and treated from January 2017 to December 2021; 102 of them were boys (86.6%) and 16 were girls (13.4%). All children had unilateral disease. All children underwent a comprehensive ophthalmological examination. Laser coagulation was performed in 113 patients using a green laser (532 nm). The number of retinal laser coagulation sessions ranged from 2 to 13 (on average 5.2±2.36) with intervals from 1.5 to 6 months (on average 2.01±0.46).

RESULTS: Generally, retinal laser coagulation was effective in CD in 85.8% of cases (in 97 of 113 children). Effectiveness was 100% for vascular malformations and exudates outside the macula, 97.3% for vascular and exudative retinal changes involving the macular zone, 92.3% for local retinal detachment, 90.5% for widespread retinal detachment, 60.0% for subtotal retinal detachment, and 30.0% for total. Only those who had peripheral Coats’ disease symptoms were found to have visual acuity of 0.6 or above, both before and after treatment. Visual acuity did not exceed 0.1 in 92% of patients with vascular and exudative changes in the periphery and in the macula and in 94% with local and widespread retinal detachment. After successful retinal laser coagulation, 11 children (13.4%) had visual acuity of 0.4 or higher, 13 children (15.9%) had visual acuity between 0.1 and 0.3, 45 children (54.9%) had finger count of 0.09, and 13 children (15.9%) lack objective vision.

CONCLUSION: Retinal laser coagulation using a laser with a wavelength of 532 nm is an effective method for treating CD at all stages, including cases of the disease with the development of retinal detachment.