Abstract
To compare the choroidal thickness of systemic hypertensive patients with non hypertensive patients using enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography This is a retrospective, observational, comparative series of 112 patients (212 eyes) with systemic arterial hypertension and 15 healthy patients (28 eyes). The subfoveal, nasal and temporal choroidal thickness, was measured using an enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. The images were obtained by positioning a spectral-domain OCT device close enough to the eye to acquire an inverted image. The choroid was measured from the center of the fovea and from a horizontal section from 3 mm temporal to the fovea to 3 mm nasal to this point. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate variations of choroidal thickness in patients with and without hypertension and at each location to correlate choroidal thickness with patient age and sex The mean age of the 112 patients was 67 years (range 23 to 90 years), and 59 patients (52.7%) were female. A total of 15 healthy patients (28 eyes) were used as controls, of these 8 were women (53.3%) and the mean age was 51 (range 25-78). Because there was no significant difference between both eyes a mean of the six measures was used to analyze the results. The choroid was thinnest underneath the fovea in both hypertensive and non hypertensive patients (mean 136.24µm ± 46 and 173.72µm±38.23; p=0.0095), then it increased in the nasal direction (mean 219.33µm ± 59.75 and 293.77µm±90.46; p= 0.01) and also increased, but in a minor quantity, to temporal direction (mean 204.66 ±51.35 and 253.22µm±72.06; p=0.0051). The choroid was thinner in the hypertensive patients when compared to the non hypertensive patients in the three places evaluated. Choroidal thickness can be quickly analyzed during an examination with enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Choroidal thickness is significantly thinner in patients with systemic hypertension in comparison to patients without this condition.
