Frosted Branch Angiitis; Case Series and Literature Review

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Frosted branch angiitis (FBA) is a rare form of retinal vasculitis. Four case series and an extensive literature review of 236 cases were conducted to clarify the characteristics of this rare condition.

Methods

Case series and literature review.

Results

An analysis of the reported cases revealed that a majority (54.6%) developed FBA in the presence of an underlying disease, with recurrence and complications requiring surgical intervention being rare. The frequency of bilateral occurrence (55.0%) and prevalence in female patients (45.0%) were noted to be lower than previously reported.

Conclusion

In general, idiopathic FBAs are more likely to be bilateral and diagnosed at a younger age than secondary FBAs. In idiopathic FBA, fundus involvement is more generalized, exudates tend to be more translucent, and extensive retinal hemorrhage tends to be less frequent. However, there were no differential characteristic fundus features that clearly distinguished idiopathic FBA from secondary FBA.

KEYWORDS:

• Frosted branch angiitis
• frosted retinal periphlebitis
• idiopathic retinal vasculitis
• retinal perivascular sheath
• retinal vasculitis

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by an Inha University Hospital research grant.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

KL, SJ, and HSC participated in data analysis and drafting of the manuscript. HSC participated in the patient management. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09273948.2022.2148112

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by an Inha University Hospital research grant. The authors had no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.