Abstract
Purpose :
Myopia is a very common refractive error characterized by axial length (AL) elongation. High myopia (HM) is a risk factor for serious ocular pathologies in the retinal periphery, posterior pole (myopic maculopathy), and optic nerve. These pathologies can lead to significant visual impairment.
The purpose of this clinical study was to determine the prevalence of retinal pathologies (RP) in patients with HM and its relationship with an increasing AL.
Methods :
Retrospective, single center, observational clinical study conducted in 197 HM patients that came to the clinic between January 2022 and February 2023. Participants underwent a complete ophthalmological examination including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), AL measurements by optic biometry, biometry, color fundus photography, visual field test, fundoscopic exam by a retina specialist and spectral domain optic coherence tomography. Cohort groups were defined by AL (25.00-26.99mm, 27.00-28.99mm, 29.00-30.99mm, 31.00-32,99mm and 33.00-37.99mm).
Macular atrophy (MA), neovascular membranes (NVM), vitreomacular traction (VMT), foveoschisis (FS), macular epiretinal membrane (MEM), macular hole (MH), macular lamellar hole (MLH), peripheral retinal lesions (PRL), rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), and optic neuropathy (ON) were also recorded.
Statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS Statistics for Macintosh, Version 29.0 (Armonk, NY: IBM Cor related to p).
Results :
A total of 376 eyes of 197 patients were included in the study. The mean AL was 29.94 mm (25.00 mm-37.20 mm). 63% (237) of them presented retinal conditions related to HM. Regarding the prevalence of associated pathologies 23 of 78 (29%) in the first group presented RP, 35/70 (50%) in the second, 63/90 (70%) in the third group, 53/65 (82%) in the fourth group and 63/71 (89%) in the fifth group. There was a correlation among AL and MA (p=0), NVM (p=0.0003), VMT (p=0.0004), FS (p=0.044), MEM (p=0.043), MH (p=0.044), MLH (p=0.044), PRL (p=0.003) and ON (p=0.00001).
Mean BCVA decreases (from 20/20 to 20/63) with increasing AL, there is a relationship between AL and amblyopia with the frequency of cases increasing as AL increases (p= 0.003).
Conclusions :
Amblyopia and most of the RP in HM are related with increasing AL. The decrease in mean BCVA with longer AL may also be related to the increased frequency of RP.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.