Choroidal thickness in healthy eyes using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography and comparison with cases of retinitis pigmentosa.

INTRODUCTION

The goal of this study was to measure by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) with EDI the choroidal thickness in healthy subjects and to compare these parameters with those of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

METHODS

Data were obtained from 60 healthy patients without history or family history of retinal or choroidal disease or glaucoma. A case-control study was also conducted on 40 eyes of 20 patients with RP and 40 eyes of 20 healthy refraction- and age-matched controls, selected from among the 60 healthy patients. OCT was used with the EDI protocol. The primary outcome measure was choroidal thickness.

RESULTS

Among healthy patients, the overall choroidal thickness was 287.7μm. Mean choroidal thickness was lower on the nasal side (236.6μm at 2000μm from the fovea) compared with the temporal side (262.3μm at 2000μm, P=0.002). It also varied according to age, being highest among 20-29-year-old patients and decreasing thereafter with increasing age. Choroidal thickness was significantly higher in healthy patients than in RP patients, regardless of the location (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

This observational study confirms that choroidal thickness varies with age and location. It decreases in subjects with RP and is related to worsening of retinal damage, independently of age-related thinning. Further studies are needed to understand whether choroidal vascular alteration is a cause or a consequence of the degenerative pathology.