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

Abstract

Aim: Comparison of choroidal thickness (CT) and foveal morphology as seen with swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) in children with a history of treated or spontaneously regressed retinopathy of prematurity (tROP or srROP) to assess the impact on best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Methods: CT was measured by SS-OCT (DRI-OCT Triton; Topcon, USA) single scans of a 6-mm diameter around the fovea in 17 children with tROP or srROP (4–7 years of age) and compared to 25 controls (age-matched children and adults). The disproportion of the outer nuclear layer and inner retinal layers at the fovea (i.e., the ONL+/IRL ratio) as a measure of macular developmental arrest (MDA) was manually analyzed. BCVA was tested with ETDRS letter charts and correlated with the morphology. Results: CT was significantly thinner in children with tROP and srROP compared to term-born healthy children (nKids) at all measurement marks (p < 0.001), and mostly affected in the subfoveal area. tROP showed the lowest CT. CT allowed no direct conclusion about ONL+/IRL, but correlated positively with BCVA. Conclusions: Reduced CT in children with a history of ROP is linked to ROP severity. These findings overlap with the degree of MDA. CT appears to be involved in ROP, but MDA showed a higher impact on the BCVA of the examined cohort.

Choroidal structural changes in preterm children with and without retinopathy of prematurity

“…In addition, Bowl et al. () observed a 22% thinner choroid in spontaneously regressed ROP and a 53% thinner choroid in treated ROP when compared to age‐matched full‐term children. Interestingly, Marques et al () showed that the number of days of oxygen exposure was the most significant negative predictive factor for CT. On the other hand, Fieß et al.…”

Structural consequences of arrested foveal development in preterms with persisting signs of immaturity

“…A possible functional correlate to the calculated structural minification of INL and OPL structures could be the attenuation of cone mediated multifocal ERG (mfERG) responses within the fovea observed in the macula of preterms with and without ROP in a number of recent studies [30][31][32][33]. Since the mfERG response in a cone-initiated activity mainly reflects bipolar cell activity [34] it is possible that the decreased space available for the synaptic networks within OPL and INL is related to the reduced mfERG signals.…”

Prospective Longitudinal Evaluation of the Peripheral Choroidal Thickness in High-Risk Infants with Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Pilot Study.

“…ese studies demonstrated a thinner choroid in premature infants that develop severe ROP; however, only the central choroidal thickness was evaluated and most of these studies were conducted in older age groups than our cohort [9,10]. Since the central retina is typically vascularized in most premature infants, this study concentrated more on evaluating the peripheral choroid of which, we believe, may be more involved in the development of ROP [2,3].…”

“…Multiple studies have evaluated the choroidal thickness in premature infants using OCT [6][7][8][9][10].…”

“…We then followed these developmental changes over time using handheld spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in a series of very high-risk premature infants. Multiple studies have evaluated the central choroidal thickness in high-risk premature infants using OCT [6][7][8][9][10]. is, we believe, is the first study evaluating the peripheral choroid in very high-risk premature infants using SD-OCT. e purpose of this study was to evaluate the peripheral choroidal thickness in relation to the overlying retina in high-risk premature infants who developed ROP and needed treatment.…”