Retinal Oxygen Saturation in Patients With a Cerebrovascular Ischemic Accident

Abstract

Purpose: : to measure oxygen saturation in retinal arteries and retinal veins in normals and patients with a cerebrovascular ischemic accident

Methods: : The determination of retinal oxygen saturation was performed using the Imaging Spectrometer. The basis for the non-invasive estimation of the oxygen saturation is different extinction spectra of hemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin. The measurements of the reflectance spectra were performed in a wavelength range from 400 nm to 700 nm. The retinal oxygen saturation was measured with an entrance slit of 1.5 mm, spectral resolution of dl < 2nm, and local resolution ds < 7.8um.We measured 72 eyes of 54 healthy persons and 11 eyes of 6 patients with a transient ischemic attack and 19 eyes of 11 patients with primary ischemic brain stroke within of 5 days after first-recorded events.

Results: : In normals the oxygen saturation was in average 91%+-5% in retinal arterioles and 57% +-8% in retinal venoles.In patients with a transient ischemic attack(TIA) the oxygen saturation was in average 89% +-5% in retinal arterioles and 54% +-11% in retinal veins.In patients with a primary ischemic brain stroke the oxygen saturation was in average 90% +-4% in retinal arterioles and 62% +-9% in retinal veins.

Conclusions: : In eyes with a primary ischemic brain stroke we found a significant increase of local oxygen saturation in retinal veins(p*=0.018). In the retinal arterial oxygen saturation we don’t found a significant difference between normals and patients with a cerebrovascular ischemic accident

Keywords: retina • blood supply • oxygen