Choroidal thickness in age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To examine choroidal thickness in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: The hospital-based case series study included patients with nonexudative or exudative AMD as study group, and the control group consisted of subjects with a normal fundus. Choroidal thickness was measured by enhanced depth imaging of spectral domain optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: The study group (126 patients; 204 eyes) included a nonexudative subgroup (n = 50 eyes) and an exudative subgroup (n = 154 eyes), differentiated into eyes with mostly retinal pigment epithelium detachment (n = 35), mostly retinal edema (n = 36), and a subretinal fibrotic scar (n = 83). For 29 patients with unilateral AMD, contralateral normal eyes were compared with affected eyes. The control group consisted of 189 patients (228 eyes). Comparing choroidal thickness between the affected eyes and contralateral unaffected eyes in patients with unilateral AMD revealed no statistically significant differences (all P > 0.20). After adjusting for age and refractive error, subfoveal choroidal thickness was not significantly (all P > 0.10) related with AMD neither as a whole nor with the nonexudative or exudative AMD subgroup nor with the single exudative AMD subtypes (except for the subretinal fibrotic scar subgroup; P = 0.03). Correspondingly, choroidal thickness at a horizontal distance of 1000 µm from the fovea was not significantly (all P ≥ 0.30) associated with any subgroup of AMD. In binary regression analysis, the presence of AMD or of its subtypes (except for subretinal fibrotic scar type) was not significantly (all P ≥ 0.20) associated with subfoveal or parafoveal choroidal thickness after adjustment for age and refractive error. After matching for age, refractive error, and axial length, study group and control group did not differ significantly (all P ≥ 0.25) in foveal or parafoveal choroidal thickness measurements. CONCLUSION: After adjusting for age and refractive error, AMD, neither in its nonexudative form nor exudative form, was significantly associated with a marked thinning or thickening of the choroid in the foveal and parafoveal region.

Choroidal Thickness in Open-angle Glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To examine choroidal thickness in open-angle glaucoma. METHODS: The hospital-based case series study included a study group with patients with open-angle glaucoma and a control group. Choroidal thickness was measured by enhanced depth imaging by spectral domain optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: The study group included 39 patients (71 eyes) and the control group consisted of 189 patients (228 eyes) with no significant difference between both groups in age (P=0.16) and refractive error (P=0.07). Choroidal thickness in the foveal region (P=0.18), at a distance of 1000 µm from the fovea (P=0.39), 2000 µm from the fovea (P=0.46), and 2500 µm from the fovea (P=0.53) did not vary significantly between both groups. In multivariable analysis with adjustment for age and refractive error, choroidal thickness at the fovea [P=0.12; regression coefficient B: minus-8.60; 95% confidence interval (CI): -19.3, 2.1], at a horizontal distance of 1000 µm from the fovea (P=0.30; regression coefficient B: -4.98; 95% CI: -14.3, 4.4), 2000 µm from the fovea (P=0.20; regression coefficient B: -20.9; 95% CI: -53.2, 11.3), and 2500 µm from the fovea (P=0.45; regression coefficient B: -2.70; 95% CI: -9.67, 4.27) was not significantly associated with the diagnosis of glaucoma. In binary regression analysis with adjustment for age and refractive error, presence of glaucoma was significantly associated neither with subfoveal choroidal thickness [P=0.12; odds ratio (OR): 0.997; 95% CI: 0.993, 1.001] nor with choroidal thickness at a horizontal distance of 1000 µm from the fovea (P=0.47; OR: 0.998; 95% CI: 0.993, 1.002), 2000 µm from the fovea (P=0.23; OR: 0.997; 95% CI: 0.993, 1.002), or 2500 µm from the fovea (P=0.46; OR: 0.998; 95% CI: 0.992, 1.004). CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for age and refractive error, open-angle glaucoma was not significantly associated with a marked thinning or a thickening of the choroid in the foveal and parafoveal region.

Choroidal thickness in nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.

PURPOSE: To examine choroidal thickness in nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION). DESIGN: Retrospective case control study. METHODS: In the eye clinic of the University Medical Center in Mannheim, Germany, we studied a group that consisted of patients with nonarteritic AION and a control group that consisted of individuals with normal fundus. Choroidal thickness was measured by the enhanced-depth imaging of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. The main outcome measure was choroidal thickness. RESULTS: The study group consisted of 20 patients: 11 patients with acute nonarteritic AION and an unaffected contralateral eye and 9 patients with acute unilateral nonarteritic AION and previously nonarteritic AION in the contralateral eye. The control group consisted of 58 patients (58 eyes). In multivariate analysis, thinner subfoveal choroidal thickness was associated with the diagnosis of nonarteritic AION (P = 0.001; regression coefficient B, -55.1), after adjusting for age (P < 0.001) and refractive error (P = 0.20). Similarly, unaffected eyes contralateral to eyes with acute nonarteritic AION as compared to control eyes showed thinner subfoveal choroidal thickness (P = 0.037) after adjusting for age (P = 0.001) and refractive error (P = 0.06). In a reverse manner, nonarteritic AION was associated with thinner subfoveal choroidal thickness (P = 0.007) after adjusting for age, optic disc diameter, gender, and refractive error. CONCLUSIONS: Eyes affected by nonarteritic AION and unaffected contralateral eyes showed significantly thinner macular choroids than eyes of a control group after adjusting ocular and systemic parameters. A thin choroid may be added to the diagnostic features of nonarteritic AION. Future studies may examine the pathophysiologic meaning of the finding.