J Retin.  2023 May;8(1):36-41. 10.21561/jor.2023.8.1.36.

Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion with Arteriovenous Crossing

• Noh SY
• Lee JH
• Jeong WJ

• KMID: 2552117
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.21561/jor.2023.8.1.36

Abstract

Purpose
The study was designed to analyze the incidence of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) with characteristics of arteriovenous crossing.
Methods
Patients diagnosed with BRVO from January 2012 to January 2017 were enrolled. We selected 117 patients with recognizable arteriovenous crossing on fundus photography. The control group consisted of 120 patients who had no eye disorders and normal fundus photography. To analyze the characteristics of BRVO arteriovenous crossing, the sites were compared with arteriovenous crossing sites in similar locations in the contralateral vascular arcade of the BRVO site. Second, the numbers of arteriovenous crossings and crossings in which the positions of an artery and a vein alternated in the main venous pathways were studied. Last, distances between arteriovenous crossings at the main venous pathway were analyzed.
Results
Of BRVO patients, 75.2% showed an artery anterior to the vein at arteriovenous crossing sites. In the control group, 61.5% of arteriovenous crossing sites showed artery anterior to the vein. The total number of arteriovenous crossing sites was not different from that of the contralateral arcade in the same eye, but the number of arteries anterior to veins was significantly different. The total number of arteriovenous crossing sites was statistically different from that of the control group of normal people. Distance between arteriovenous crossings were measured by the Image J program. Patients with BRVO showed a 2.619 ± 0.859 disc diameter (DD) and normal subject was 3.505 ± 0.859 DD, a significant difference.
Conclusions
The study shows that arteriovenous crossing sites play an important role in BRVO, and an artery anterior to a vein is more important at such crossing sites. Moreover, the distance between arteriovenous crossing sites can affect the incidence of BRVO.

Keyword

AV crossing site; BRVO; Retinal vein occlusion