Optical Coherence Tomography-Detected Retinal and Choroidal Changes in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Kazakhstan.

PURPOSE: To evaluate retinal and choroidal changes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in Kazakhstan.

METHODS

A total of 51 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (49.1% females; age range 39-67 years) and 51 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, ganglion cell complex thickness, and subfoveal choroidal thickness were measured using SD-OCT.

RESULTS

In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the mean subfoveal choroidal thickness decreased progressively with increasing disease severity (P < .001). The thickness of the ganglion cell complex in all quadrants was significantly lower in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 3 to 4 (severe to very severe) group compared with the control group (P < .01). The thickness of the ganglion cell complex was also significantly greater in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 1 to 2 (mild to moderate) group than in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 3 to 4 group (P < .01). RNFL thickness was higher in the control group than in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 3 to 4 group (P < .01). Similarly, RNFL thickness was significantly greater in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 1 to 2 group than in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 3 to 4 group (P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Significant reductions in subfoveal choroidal thickness, RNFL thickness, and ganglion cell complex thickness were associated with increasing severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These OCT-derived parameters may serve as useful biomarkers of ocular involvement and visual comorbidities in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.