Choroidal thickness in regressed retinopathy of prematurity

Abstract

Purpose To compare choroidal thickness in patients with regressed retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with healthy controls using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI OCT) Methods Twenty-four children and young adults (41 eyes) with regressed ROPZstage 3 had undergone EDI OCT with Spectralis FD-OCT as part of their clinical record. Their refraction, best-corrected visual acuity, and ophthalmoscopic findings were recorded. Corresponding data was collected prospectively from 33 healthy controls (58 eyes) who had been born at term. Choroidal thickness was measured independently by two observers subfoveally and at 1500 mm nasal and temporal to the fovea using EDI OCT. Results Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness, adjusted for refraction, was 271.1 mm (95% CI, 247.8-294.5) in the ex-ROP group, which was significantly thinner than 327.4 mm (95% CI, 293.8-360.9) in controls (P ¼ 0.008). Similarly, mean adjusted temporal choroidal thickness was 257.2 mm (95% CI, 240.2-274.2) in ex-ROP's vs 320.5 mm (95% CI, 288.6-352.3) in controls (P ¼ 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the nasal measurement. In the ex-ROP group, there was no significant correlation between subfoveal choroidal thickness and gestational age (r s ¼ 0.16, P ¼ 0.46) or birthweight (r s ¼ 0.03, P ¼ 0.90). In eyes without copathology in addition to regressed ROP (29 eyes, 19 patients), there was no significant correlation between subfoveal choroidal thickness and visual acuity. Conclusions Our findings of thinner subfoveal and temporal macular choroidal thickness in regressed ROP support the case for choroidal involvement in the pathogenesis of this condition.

Choroidal Thickness with Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography versus Foveal Morphology in Young Children with a History of Prematurity

“…Several studies already measured CT in premature children using SD-OCT [7, 8, 10]. However, to our knowledge, this is the first study to measure CT in young preterm infants using the superior SS-OCT technique.…”

“…Several studies using enhanced-depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI SD-OCT) on human patients reported an inverse relationship between temporal choroidal thickness (CT) and the stage of ROP in preterm children [7-10]. Although SD-OCT is usual in the clinical assessment of chorioretinal disorders, analysis of the choroid may be affected by the limited depth of penetration (850 nm), even when applying the EDI method [11, 12].…”

Evaluation of Choroidal Thickness and Retinal Pigmented Epithelium using Cirrus SD-OCT in Portuguese Children with history of Preterm birth

“…9 Considering this mean value, we notice that the mean choroidal thickness for both groups were lower than for eyes of patients with full term birth and similar mean actual age.…”

“…Anderson et al 9 compared choroidal thickness in patients with regressed ROP stage 3 with healthy controls using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography. They obtained a mean subfoveal choroidal thickness, adjusted for refraction, of 271,1 µm in the ex-ROP group, which was significantly thinner than 327,4 µm in controls (p=0,008).…”

Pediatric Optical Coherence Tomography in Clinical Practice—Recent Progress

“…27,53,56,57 Choroidal thickness, which normally increases with age, is reduced in preterm children. 45,50,[58][59][60] Iridocorneal angle development and morphology are also affected, with evidence of a wider angle, a more convex iris configuration, and a shallower anterior chamber depth. 50,61 Handheld SDOCT may be a useful adjunct to binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy screening in ROP.…”