Abstract
Purpose :
Considering the high vascularity of the choroid, the changes induced by hypertension on the choroid has been studied sparsely with no previous quantitative assessments of the macular and peripapillary choroid in hypertension.The choroid has been proven to be a highly dynamic structure capable of modulating its thickness both by secretory and morphological responses.The watershed zones of the choroidal vasculature are reported to be present around the disc and macula.This study aims to compare the macular and peripapillary choroidal thickness of systemic hypertensive patients with non hypertensive patients using enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.
Methods :
This was a prospective study of 25 patients with systemic hypertension, and 25 healthy controls over 30 years of age. All patients underwent comprehensive medical screening to rule out secondary causes of hypertension. Choroidal thickness (CT) was measured using a Heidelberg SD-OCT in the enhanced depth imaging mode with linear scans, 9 mm in length, centered onto the fovea, and circle scan positioned around the optic disk. Choroidal thickness was measured manually at the fovea and at 1500 µm distance along all scans in the macula. Peripapillary CT was measured at four points along the circle scan. All measurements were performed independently by 2 masked graders.Paired t tests and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to compare the measurements.
Results :
Mean age was not significantly different between patients with hypertension and controls. Mean subfoveal CT was significantly thicker in the hypertension group (p=0.015).In the macular and peripapillary areas, CT was significantly thicker in all quadrants (p<0.05) except the nasal quadrant (Macular p=0.067,peripapillary p=0.447). The greatest mean difference in CT between both groups was seen in the temporal quadrants in both macular and peripapillay areas (macular p=0.0003, peripapillary p=0.008). The interobserver agreement was excellent, with ICC of 0.98.
Conclusions :
Macular and peripapillary CT is significantly thicker in patients with essential hypertension.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.