Exudative Retinitis (Coats Disease)

Excerpt

Coats disease is an idiopathic ocular condition characterized by retinal telangiectasia, aneurysms, and exudation. George Coats first described it in 1908 as a unilateral condition with retinal exudation and telangiectasia in male children. Later, Theodor von Leber described a similar case with telangiectatic and aneurysmal vessels without subretinal exudation. This condition was later known as Leber multiple miliary aneurysms. It was identified as an earlier disease process of Coats disease. Subsequently, Shields et al. defined Coats disease as ‘idiopathic retinal telangiectasia associated with exudation and frequent exudative retinal detachment with no signs of retinal or vitreal traction.’