A population-based study of Coats disease in the United Kingdom I: epidemiology and clinical features at diagnosis.

[coats disease]

coats disease is an uncommon form of retinal telangiectasis . Published case series mostly originate from tertiary referrals centres and may provide a skewed view of disease severity . We conducted a prospective population-based study of Coats disease in the United Kingdom to ascertain the incidence and provide a more representative picture .the study was conducted through the British Ophthalmological Surveillance Unit . This first paper reports the features at presentation ; gender , mode of presentation , visual acuity , anterior and posterior segment findings , amount of retinal exudation , and disease staging .a total of 55 eligible cases of Coats disease were identified giving an estimated population incidence of 0 .09 per 100 .000 of the population . All cases were unilateral and 85 % were male . Mean age at presentation was 146 months (median 96 months ). The mean age of diagnosis was markedly different with differing mechanisms of presentation . Cases presenting with leucocoria or strabismus presented early whereas subjective visual loss presented much later . A large proportion of eyes (44 %) were blind at diagnosis . The great majority of eyes (71 %) had 6 or fewer clock hours of retinal exudation . More severe forms /stages of Coats disease were more common in the youngest patients .compared with published studies of Coats disease , we have found milder disease severity at presentation . This is most likely because of the population-based nature of our study reflecting the full disease spectrum . A large proportion of eyes with Coats have poor visual acuity and disease severity is worse in younger patients .