Prospective Longitudinal Evaluation of the Peripheral Choroidal Thickness in High-Risk Infants with Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Pilot Study.

Mohamed A Hussein,Evelyn Paysse

doi:10.1155/2020/4384328

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to prospectively follow up the peripheral choroidal development and thickness for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in high-risk premature infants using optic coherence tomography. Materials and Methods All infants included in the analysis had an optical coherence tomography (OCT) evaluation, serially over 6 weeks, starting at the first ROP screening exam and at each follow-up screening exam. We included infants born at or earlier than 25 weeks of gestation, weighing less than 700 grams, and those who developed interventricular hemorrhage. We evaluated the choroidal thickness and development, centrally and at the extreme nasal and temporal periphery, for each eye with each ROP screening exam. Changes in the choroidal thickness and the choroidal thickness to retinal thickness ratio (C/R ratio) were evaluated over time not only for each individual infant, but between the infants as well. Results Six infants met our inclusion criteria. Infants with severe ROP had a mean choroidal thickness that was significantly thinner in the extreme temporal periphery than infants that did not develop significant ROP (P=0.02). The mean value of the C/R ratio was smaller in infants with severe ROP compared to those that did not develop any significant ROP at any of the evaluated locations (P < 0.001). Conclusion The peripheral choroid appears to be significantly thinner relative to the retinal thickness in infants with severe ROP.

Highlights

Each patient had an average of 4 imaging sessions for both eyes; the discrepancy in the number of sessions between the different patients was related to the fact that some of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging sessions were omitted or not included because of the inability to determine with certainty the location of the choroid-scleral junction (CSJ)
0.6 ± 0.2, 0.7 ± 0.1, and 1.3 ± 0.2 in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. e choroid thickness and the mean (C/R) ratio temporally was significantly larger in the mild retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) group compared to the severe ROP and treated groups (P < 0.0001). e mean choroidal thickness nasally was 426 ± 128, 540 ± 271, and 552 ± 94 in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. e mean choroidal thickness was larger in the mild ROP group compared to the severe ROP and treated groups
Multiple studies have evaluated the choroidal thickness in premature infants using OCT [6,7,8,9,10]. ese studies demonstrated a thinner choroid in premature infants that develop severe ROP; only the central choroidal thickness was evaluated and most of these studies were conducted in older age groups than our cohort [9, 10]

Summary

Introduction

Multiple studies have evaluated the central choroidal thickness in high-risk premature infants using OCT [6,7,8,9,10]. Is, we believe, is the first study evaluating the peripheral choroid in very high-risk premature infants using SD-OCT.

Results

Conclusion