Diabetic macular oedema and choroidal thickness measured by EDI SD‐OCT

Abstract

Purpose Present study compared the choroidal thickness in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) with that in healthy controls to know the true role of choroids in DME. Methods Twelve eyes of 9 patients with DME (65.5±8.4 years), 9 contralateral eyes without DME (60.2±13.7 years), and 186 eyes of 96 age‐matched healthy volunteers (62.1±19.4 years) underwent enhanced depth imaging (EDI) spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography with a Heidelberg Spectralis HRA+OCT. Results Reliable measurements of choroidal thickness were obtained in 72.3% of eyes examined. In the DME group the mean choroidal thicknesses were 232.4±74.7 µm at the fovea, 223.3±70.0 µm nasally, and 234.0±72.9 µm temporally. In the contralateral eyes these measurements were 279.9±103.6 µm, 252.8±86.4 µm, and 283.9±101.4 µm, respectively. Finally, the control group showed slightly higher values: 288.6±114.5 µm, 279.1±112.7 µm, and 283.8±104.3 µm, respectively. However, choroidal thickness did not show any statistically significant differences among the three groups of eyes (p>0.05, ANOVA test). Conclusion Although a decreased choroidal thickness has been reported in eyes with DME, no differences were found in present study when age was counted as a confounding variable. Age has a strong inverse relationship with choroidal thickness.