Multimodal imaging in paclitaxel-induced macular edema: the microtubule disfunction

Abstract

Taxanes are a rare cause of macular edema. A 63-year-old female, under paclitaxel treatment, was observed with progressively bilateral visual acuity loss and an apparently normal fundus. Optical coherence tomography revealed a bilateral cystoid macular edema with a late petaloid pooling on fluorescein angiography. Fundus autofluorescence exhibited a foveal hiperautofluorescent pattern. There was a great improvement of visual acuity and macular thickness after 5 months of drug withdrawal. Paclitaxel maculopathy diagnosis requires a high degree of suspicion. The pathophysiology remains unclear.

• Angiography
• cystoid macular edema
• fundus autofluorescence
• optical coherence tomography
• paclitaxel
• taxanes

Declaration of interest

Professor A. Carneiro had been in advisory boards for Novartis, Alcon, Alimera Sciences and Bayer. No other disclosures are reported. The authors declare no conflicts of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.