J Retin.  2021 Nov;6(2):115-122. 10.21561/jor.2021.6.2.115.

Longitudinal Changes of the Choroidal Thickness in Patients with Unilateral Central Retinal Artery Occlusion

• Kim DI
• Hwang DDJ

• KMID: 2552177
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.21561/jor.2021.6.2.115

Abstract

Purpose
To investigate the changes in the choroidal thickness of patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) over time and compare it with the changes in the fellow eye.
Methods
Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for patients diagnosed with CRAO from November 2014 to May 2020. The central foveal thickness (CFT) and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) were measured at the time of diagnosis and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after diagnosis using optical coherence tomography and compared with the values of the fellow eye.
Results
This study included 32 patients, and the mean age was 76.3 ± 10.0 years. When classified according to the degree of obstruction, seven patients presented incomplete occlusion, 21 patients presented partial occlusion, and four patients presented total occlusion. At diagnosis, the CFT of the eye with CRAO was thicker than that of the fellow eye (p = 0.017). It decreased continuously from 1 month to 12 months after diagnosis. The SFCT at baseline and 12 months after diagnoses did not differ significantly. However, from the time of diagnosis to 12 months after diagnosis, the decrease in the SFCT was greater in the eye with CRAO than in the fellow eye (p = 0.018).
Conclusions
The SFCT of the eye with CRAO significantly decreased 12 months after diagnosis, and this reduction was more than that in the fellow eye.

Keyword

Central retinal artery occlusion; Choroid; Optical coherence tomography