Central Corneal Thickness Measurements in Central Retinal and Branch Retinal Vein Occlusions

Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose:The Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) established thinner central corneal thickness (CCT) as a significant predictor in the development of open angle glaucoma (OAG). OAG is an important risk factor for central retinal vein occlusions (CRVO) and in some studies, branch retinal vein occlusions (BRVO). We sought to determine CCT measurements in patients with CRVO and BRVO. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients seen in the Eye Clinic at the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County from May, 2004 through November, 2004 who had been diagnosed with a CRVO or BRVO. Bilateral CCT and intraocular pressures (IOP) were recorded for each patient. Patients were designated as having a thin (<540µm), normal (540µm–560µm) or thick (>560µm) central corneal thickness using the normative data from OHTS. Additional pertinent history such as hypertension, diabetes, open angle glaucoma, and neovascular glaucoma (NVG) was obtained. Patients were excluded if they had a prior diagnosis of OAG or NVG. Results: A total of 28 patients were initially included. Two patients were excluded with a diagnosis of NVG and three with a prior history of OAG. Of the 23 patients included in the study, 8 were males and 15 were females. Eleven had a BRVO, and 12 had a CRVO. The mean age was 65.5 years (range 46 to 89yrs). Mean CCT in the involved eye was 536µm (range 461µm to 612µm). Mean CCT in the fellow eye was 548µm (range 472µm to 619µm). Twelve out of twenty three patients (52.2%) had a thin CCT in the involved eye. The IOP in these 12 patients ranged from 10–40 mm Hg in the involved eye with a mean of 17.5 mm Hg. The IOP in the fellow eye ranged from 8–22 mm Hg with a mean of 15.6 mm Hg. Conclusions: Thin CCT is a known risk factor for OAG. In our ongoing study, 52.2% of patients diagnosed with a CRVO or BRVO had a thin CCT with no prior diagnosis of OAG, a risk factor in retinal vein occlusions. Measurement of CCT should be included in the evaluation of CRVO and BRVO in order to properly diagnose OAG and prevent potential complications in the fellow eye.

Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment • retina • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: treatment/prevention assessment/controlled