Abstract
Purpose:
To investigate the choroidal thickness in patients with retinal vein occlusions (RVOs) using enhanced depth imaging (EDI) ocular coherence tomography (OCT).
Methods:
A prospective case-control study of 26 patients with unilateral RVOs were imaged using the Heidelberg Engineering Spectralis OCT with an EDI protocol. Subfoveal choroidal thickness measurements were obtained OU. Statistical analysis was performed to compare choroidal thickness between the affected and the unaffected eye as well as to correlate choroidal thickness in the affected eye with central macular thickness.
Results:
Mean age was 71.0 years (15 males, 11 females). 11 patients were diagnosed with a central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and 15 patients were diagnosed with a branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Mean duration of RVO at time of imaging was 19.9 months. 17 eyes had a history of macular edema which was treated with intravitreal drug therapy and/or macular laser. Mean choroidal thickness measurements were 262.3 +/-66.0 um in the affected eye and 266.3 +/-60.9 um in the unaffected eye (p>0.05). Subgroup analysis of patients with CRVO and BRVO showed no statistically significant difference between subfoveal choroidal thickness measurements between the affected and the unaffected eye. 17 eyes (65%) had macular edema on OCT at time of imaging with 5 eyes having concurrent submacular fluid. Mean central macular thickness measurements were 374.8 +/-197.3 um in the affected eye and 277.3 +/-50.1 um in the unaffected eye (p=0.02). The correlation coefficient between subfoveal choroidal thickness and central macular thickness measurements in the affected eye was 0.32 (p=0.11).
Conclusions:
Although subfoveal choroidal thickness in eyes with RVOs did not significantly differ from the contralateral normal eye in this small pilot study, there was a weak positive correlation between choroidal thickness and macular thickness in eyes with RVOs. A larger study may be needed to further investigate the possible role of the choroid in the pathogenesis of macular edema in eyes with RVOs.
Keywords: 688 retina •
452 choroid •
550 imaging/image analysis: clinical