Abstract
Purpose To evaluate the differences in macular choroidal thickness and volume between patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and healthy controls to assess the correlation between macular choroidal thickness and visual field mean defect (MD). Methods Case-control study. A total of 101 patients (101 eyes) with POAG who were hospitalized in our hospital and 102 healthy subjects (102 eyes) matched by age, sex, and axial length were consecutively selected as the POAG group and the control group, respectively. The macular choroidal thickness and volume in nine regions were measured in all subjects by enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Results The mean thicknesses of the choroid in the macular area in the POAG group and healthy group were 207.97 ± 62.83 µm and 208.24 ± 47.97 µm, and the mean volumes were 0.63 ± 0.19 µm3 and 0.64 ± 0.14 µm3. There were no significant differences in macular choroidal thickness, volumes of various macular regions, or mean choroidal thickness or volume between the POAG and healthy groups (all p > 0.05). The macular choroidal thickness of various macular regions was not correlated with visual field MD in the POAG group (all p > 0.05). Conclusion The macular choroidal thicknesses and volumes in POAG patients were not significantly different from those in healthy individuals. The macular choroidal thickness was not correlated with MD in POAG patients. Therefore, macular choroidal thickness is not an appropriate parameter to evaluate damage caused by POAG, and the role of the macular choroid thickness in POAG needs to be further investigated.
Highlights
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide [1, 2]
A total of patients (101 eyes) with Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) who were hospitalized in our hospital between October 2016 and October 2019 were consecutively selected as the POAG group, and another healthy subjects (102 eyes) matched by sex, age, and axial length were selected as the healthy control group. ere was no significant difference in age, sex, or axial length between the two groups (Table 1)
This study found that the choroidal thickness in each region of the macula was not correlated with the visual field mean defect (MD) in the POAG group
Summary
Quigley [3] estimated that the number of glaucoma patients would increase to 79.6 million by 2020. Glaucoma is characterized by optic atrophy, visual field defects, and eventual progression to blindness. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common form, accounting for approximately 74% of all glaucoma patients [5]. E factors affecting glaucoma progression are not fully understood, but intraocular pressure (IOP) is considered the most important risk factor for glaucoma. Reducing the IOP can slow or prevent disease progression, in some cases, glaucomatous optic nerve damage can be further aggravated even if the IOP is controlled, indicating that factors other than IOP may play important roles in glaucoma progression [6,7,8,9,10]
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