Choroidal Thickness with Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography versus Foveal Morphology in Young Children with a History of Prematurity.

AIM: Comparison of choroidal thickness (CT) and foveal morphology as seen with swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) in children with a history of treated or spontaneously regressed retinopathy of prematurity (tROP or srROP) to assess the impact on best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA).

METHODS

CT was measured by SS-OCT (DRI-OCT Triton; Topcon, USA) single scans of a 6-mm diameter around the fovea in 17 children with tROP or srROP (4-7 years of age) and compared to 25 controls (age-matched children and adults). The disproportion of the outer nuclear layer and inner retinal layers at the fovea (i.e., the ONL+/IRL ratio) as a measure of macular developmental arrest (MDA) was manually analyzed. BCVA was tested with ETDRS letter charts and correlated with the morphology.

RESULTS

CT was significantly thinner in children with tROP and srROP compared to term-born healthy children (nKids) at all measurement marks (p < 0.001), and mostly affected in the subfoveal area. tROP showed the lowest CT. CT allowed no direct conclusion about ONL+/IRL, but correlated positively with BCVA.

CONCLUSIONS

Reduced CT in children with a history of ROP is linked to ROP severity. These findings overlap with the degree of MDA. CT appears to be involved in ROP, but MDA showed a higher impact on the BCVA of the examined cohort.