Abstract
Purpose: :
To assess the ocular perfusion in patients after heart transplantation in a longitudinal and a cross-sectional study.
Methods: :
Patients were divided into two groups: In group one (longitudinal study) patients before heart transplantation were included and in group two (cross-sectional study) patients after heart transplantation. Ocular microcirculation was measured by the Heidelberg Retina Flowmeter (HRF), Laser Doppler Flowmeter (LDF) and Retinal Vessel Analyzer (RVA). In group 1 the same place was monitored in follow-up examinations. In the second group we provoked the vascular beds with a defined flicker light and compared them to an age matched control group.
Results: :
The results of 19 patients were evaluated. 2 patients were included in group 1 and 17 in group 2. The mean age was 58 years (range: 32-73 years) and in the control group 56 years (range: 33-70 years). The systemic blood pressure and IOD was not statistically significant different in all groups (P=0.42). As the patients in group 1 did not receive heart transplantation yet, the results are not presented. In group 2 arterial and venous vessel diameter measured by RVA under flicker light provocation increased by 1.89% and 2.15%, which was not statistically significant (P=0.06). Also there was no significant difference between group 2 and an age-matched control group (2.2% and 2.1%; P=0.21). In group 2 the papillary flow (P=0.002) and the parapapillary retinal flow (P=0.031) were significant lower compared to the control group.
Conclusions: :
The microcirculation parameters, especially blood flow, were different between heart transplanted patients and age matched normals. These results suggest that the disturbance of the microcirculation in heart transplanted patients is generalized. At the moment the interpretation is limited, as the number of patients is too small.
Keywords: optic flow • optic nerve • choroid