Abstract
Purpose :
Case reports document blindness from RVO as the presenting sign in young people with HIV. This study examines if HIV infection is associated with RVO, as well as other potential risk factors.
Methods :
This is a retrospective case-control study for a study period from April 1, 2013 to August 31, 2015. All cases and controls were residents of the Bronx, NY and seen in outpatient clinics of the Montefiore Medical Center (MMC). Potential cases were found via pertinent ICD-9 codes for outpatient ophthalmology visits. Chart review was performed to confirm the clinical diagnosis, HIV status, and potential risk factors for RVO (hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM), and asthma (AS)). The control group was randomly selected from outpatient visits from the MMC system. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.
Results :
406 charts were reviewed. 149 cases were confirmed: 48 unilateral central RVO (CRVO), 3 bilateral CRVO, 97 unilateral branch RVO (BRVO), and 1 bilateral BRVO. Cases were compared to controls in a 1:3 ratio. 26 (51.0%) CRVO cases were male, 23 (45.1%) were black, and 0 (0%) had HIV. 41 (41.8%) BRVO cases were male, 41 (41.8%) were black, and 1 (1.0%) had HIV. In univariate analysis, HTN (p<0.001, OR 4.12), DM (p<0.001, OR 5.21), and AS (p=0.01, OR 0.36) were associated with BRVO, and HTN (p<0.001, OR 4.71) and DM (p<0.001, OR 4.92) were associated with CRVO. However, in multivariate analysis controlling for age, gender, and race, only DM (p=.02, OR 2.069) and AS (p=0.041, OR 0.38) were associated with BRVO, and only DM (p=0.02, OR 2.74) was associated with CRVO. HIV was not associated with CRVO or BRVO on univariate or multivariate analysis.
Conclusions :
HIV was not associated with RVO in this cohort, suggesting that HIV+ patients are not at increased risk of RVO. DM is reaffirmed as a significant risk factor, and to our knowledge, asthma presents as a novel factor negatively associated with BRVO.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.