To describe the clinical features of an acute, inflammatory, and progressive retinal necrosis that affects primarily the posterior pole.

Retrospective, interventional case series.

Twenty-seven eyes of 24 patients diagnosed with and treated for acute retinal necrosis (ARN) were categorized into two groups according to the predominant location of retinitis at presentation: either in the peripheral retina or in the posterior pole. Clinical features, disease progression, visual outcomes, and complications of these two groups were compared.

Fifteen eyes demonstrated the known peripheral retinitis pattern, and 12 eyes exhibited a pattern of retinitis that affected mainly the posterior pole. Eyes with peripheral retinitis showed focal, well-demarcated areas of retinal necrosis in the periphery with rapid circumferential progression and rare involvement of the posterior pole. All eyes with posterior pole retinitis had multifocal deep lesions posterior to the vortex veins at presentation, and half of these eyes had lesions in the macula. These lesions progressed to patches of confluent retinitis in both the periphery and the posterior pole. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidence of anterior chamber and vitreous cells, vascular sheathing, retinal hemorrhages, or optic disk edema. Patients with posterior retinitis involvement seemed to have a worse visual outcome during the first two years after diagnosis. The Cox proportional hazards model suggested a higher incidence of retinal detachment in patients with posterior retinitis (P = .07).

The authors report a pattern of herpetic retinitis that affects predominantly the posterior pole and may have a worse visual prognosis and a higher rate of retinal detachment.