Evaluation of retinal changes in normal pregnancy and gestational hypertension – A spectral domain optical coherence tomography based study

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy, which includes gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and eclampsia syndrome, preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension, and chronic hypertension of any etiology. The pathogenesis of the first three and last two varies. The present study focuses on the first three categories of patients. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive medical imaging modality used for in vivo visualization of retinal layers in human eyes. This study analyzed the retinal thickness changes in patients with gestational hypertension and compared it with normal pregnant study participants. Furthermore, the duration of gestational hypertension with changes in retina was compared. Materials and Methods: A comparative study was performed in 206 patients (103 normal pregnant and 103 gestational hypertensive patients). Macular thickness in nine segments and ganglion cell inner plexiform layer thickness (GC-IPL) in six sectors were assessed using cirrus high-definition OCT and compared between two groups. The study period was 18 months. Results: Among the 412 eyes in two groups, there was a statistically significant increase in macular thickness in six segments in the gestational hypertension group compared to the healthy pregnant group (P