Assessment of macular choroidal thickness, central macular thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer in patients receiving oral isotretinoin treatment

Abstract

Purpose To investigate the impact of oral isotretinoin therapy in choroidal thickness, central macular thickness (CMT), and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Patients and methods Choroidal thicknesses, CMT, and RNFL thickness of 64 eyes were evaluated at baseline and the end of the third month of isotretinoin therapy by spectral-domain OCT. For assessment of choroidal thickness, OCT measurements were obtained at the fovea with 6 additional measurements at adjacent locations (at 500–1000–1500 µm temporal to the fovea and 500–1000–1500 µm nasal to the fovea). Results There was not a statistically significant difference between the baseline and third-month follow-up measurements of choroidal thicknesses at seven distinct locations (p > 0.05). Similarly, RNFL thickness and CMT did not change with a mean dose of 30 (±6) mg per day isotretinoin therapy during follow-up (101.82 vs 102.24, p = 0.079; 217.77 vs 217.25, p = 0.731, respectively). Conclusion After the use of oral isotretinoin for 3 months, no significant side effects have been observed in choroidal thickness, CMT, and RNFL thickness by OCT.