Korean J Ophthalmol.  2010 Oct;24(5):297-301. 10.3341/kjo.2010.24.5.297.

The Relationship between the Visual Prognoses of Branch Retinal Artery Obstruction and Foveal Thickness on OCT

• Cho HJ
• Kim CG
• Kim JW
• Lee JH

• KMID: 974324
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.2010.24.5.297

Abstract

PURPOSE
To determine the correlation between the prognosis of branch retinal artery obstruction (BRAO) and the foveal thickness or outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness on optical coherence tomography (OCT).
METHODS
Twenty-one eyes (21 patients) in patients with resolved, non-complicated BRAO and a normal control of 10 eyes (10 volunteers) were used in this study. The average macular thickness, foveal thickness and ONL thickness at central fovea were measured in both the patients and the control group using spectral domain OCT. The thickness between the patient group and the control group were compared and correlation between the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and each thickness was determined.
RESULTS
The average age of the patients was 52 +/- 5.8 years. The average macular thickness, foveal thickness and ONL thickness at the central fovea of the patients were significantly (p < 0.001, p = 0.023, p = 0.021, respectively) thinner than that of the control group. Both the foveal thickness (r(s) = 0.56, p = 0.008) and ONL thickness (r(s) = 0.86, p < 0.001) were significantly correlated with BCVA. There was no significant correlation between the average macular thickness and BCVA.
CONCLUSIONS
The foveal thickness and ONL thickness at the fovea was positively correlated with the BCVA in patients with resolved BRAO.

Keyword

Branch retinal artery obstruction; Foveal thickness; Optical coherence tomography; Outer nuclear layer thickness

MeSH Terms

Case-Control Studies
Female
Fovea Centralis/*radiography
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prognosis
Republic of Korea
Retinal Artery Occlusion/*radiography
*Tomography, Optical Coherence
Visual Acuity

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Color fundus photographs and optical coherence tomography (OCT) image of branch retinal artery obstruction (BRAO) patient (Table 1, No. 2.). (A) Initial color fundus photograph of the left eye of a 43-year-old woman with BRAO whose best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.1. (B) Color fundus photograph of the same patient after 6 months. Her BCVA was 0.7. (C) Cross-sectional macular image with a 6-mm horizontal line scan across the central fovea. The thickness of outer nuclear laye at the central fovea is approximately 138 µm. (D) Topography image of OCT in the same patient. The average macular thickness is 179 µm, the thickness of the fovea is 221 µm. ELM=external limiting membrane; ONL=outer nuclear layer.

• 

  Fig. 2 Graph showing the relationship between best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 21 branch retinal artery obstruction eyes and outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness, foveal thickness, average macular thickness, respectively (Spearman-rank correlation coefficient). (A) The thickness of ONL is positively correlated with BCVA (rs=0.86, p<0.001). (B) The foveal thickness is positively correlated with BCVA (rs=0.56, p=0.008). (C) There is no statically significant correlation between average macular thickness and BCVA (rs=0.41, p=0.186).

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