Abstract
Purpose To evaluate the differences in macular choroidal thickness and volume among patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PXG), patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and controls. Methods A total of 50 PXG patients (50 eyes) and 56 POAG patients (56 eyes) were selected as the PXG group and the POAG group, respectively, in this case-control study. A total of 54 age-, gender-, IOP-, and axial length-matched healthy individuals (54 eyes) were selected as the control group. Enhanced-depth imaging-optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) was used to measure and analyze the choroidal thicknesses and volumes in 9 macular regions of all subjects. Results The choroidal thicknesses in the central subfield (CSM), temporal inner macula (TIM), inferior inner macula (IIM), and temporal outer macula (TOM) and the mean macular choroidal thickness were significantly thinner in the PXG group than in the control group (all P < 0.05). The choroidal volumes in the TIM, IIM, and TOM and the mean macular choroidal volume were significantly smaller in the PXG group than in the control group (all P < 0.05). The choroidal thicknesses in the CSM and IIM and the mean macular choroidal thickness were significantly thinner in the PXG group than in the POAG group (all P < 0.05). The choroidal volumes in the IIM and TOM and the mean macular choroidal volume were significantly smaller in the PXG group than in the POAG group (all P < 0.05). Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that the mean macular choroidal thickness was significantly thinner in association with older subjects and longer axial length eyes. There was no association between the macular choroidal thickness of various macular regions and visual field mean defect (MD) in groups PXG and POAG (all P > 0.05). Conclusions The macular choroidal thicknesses and volumes (inferior and temporal) in PXG patients were thinner and smaller than those in POAG patients and healthy individuals. The role of choroidal thickness changes in the course of PXG remains unclear. A future prospective study is needed to better define these changes in PXG patients.
Highlights
Glaucoma is a serious eye disease that can lead to blindness. e number of glaucoma cases in Asia is expected to increase from 39 million in 2013 to 111.8 million in 2040 [1]
Pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PXG) is a type of secondary open-angle glaucoma caused by pseudoexfoliative syndrome (PEX) that accounts for approximately 25% of all cases of open-angle glaucoma
It is well known that patients with PXG have higher intraocular pressure (IOP), greater diurnal variation in IOP, slower retrobulbar blood flow, more severe visual field damage, and more rapid progression than patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) [2,3,4,5]
Summary
Glaucoma is a serious eye disease that can lead to blindness. e number of glaucoma cases in Asia is expected to increase from 39 million in 2013 to 111.8 million in 2040 [1]. It is well known that patients with PXG have higher intraocular pressure (IOP), greater diurnal variation in IOP, slower retrobulbar blood flow, more severe visual field damage, and more rapid progression than patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) [2,3,4,5]. In some cases, loss of visual function is exacerbated even when IOP is under control, indicating that there might be other factors that affect disease progression [6].
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