Evaluation of Possible Changes in Intraocular Pressure and Optical Coherence Tomography Measurements in Severe OSAS Patients After 3 Month Positive Airway Pressure Treatment

Abstract

Purpose: To identify and compare possible changes in intraocular pressure (IOP), macular and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness using optical coherence tomography (OCT) before and after 3 months of positive airway pressure (PAP) in patients with severe OSAS.Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients diagnosed with severe OSAS in the neurology sleep outpatient clinic were included in the study. Ophthalmologic examinations were performed at the time of diagnosis and after 3 months of PAP treatment. Statistical analysis of comparisons of IOP and OCT measurements taken before and after PAP treatment was performed. Before treatment, the correlations between central corneal thickness (CCT), body mass index (BMI), OCT, IOP and sleep parameters were statistically investigated.Results: When comparisons were made for both eyes, after 3 months of PAP treatment, a statistically significant decrease in IOP, thickening of the macula, and thinning of RNFL in the superior nasal sector were found when compared with the measurements previously taken at the time of diagnosis (p <0.05). There was no correlation between pre-treatment IOP, OCT, CCT, BMI and sleep parameters.Discussion: The inflammatory effects of OSAS on the IOP and macula have been shown to be reversible with a 3-month PAP treatment, but the reversibility of the neurodegenerative effects of OSAS on RNFL with this treatment seems controversial. OCT is a promising technique for monitoring disease progression in patients with severe OSAS under PAP treatment.