Evaluation of Choroidal Thickness Using Spectral Optical Coherence Tomography in Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma and Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

In the present study, the investigators aimed to evaluate the effect of the presence of PEX on choroidal thickness in two groups of glaucoma patients with similar degrees of damage and similar demographical characteristics. The investigators also evaluated whether there was a correlation between choroidal thickness and indicators of glaucoma severity, such as retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and mean deviation (MD) value, in these two glaucoma types.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The study included 30 eyes of 30 patients diagnosed with POAG and 30 eyes of 30 patients diagnosed with PEX glaucoma who presented to Glaucoma Unit of Izmir Katip Celebi University Atatürk Training and Research Hospital between August 2014 and February 2015. The control group included 30 eyes of 30 healthy individuals with similar age distribution.

Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of Izmir Katip Celebi University Medical School Atatürk Training and Research Hospital. Detailed informed consent forms were obtained from each of the patients included in the study.

The study included subjects over 18 years old who had best corrected visual acuity of 0.5 or better, transparent optic medium, at least two reliable visual field tests, and reliable spectral domain (SD)-OCT (signal strength≥7/10) and EDI-OCT images (signal strength≥6/10) Information pertaining to patients' systemic diseases and chronic medication use was recorded. Patients with diabetes mellitus, systemic arterial hypertension, renal failure, hemodialysis history, chronic medication, or smoking habit were not included.

Patients with retinal and neuro-ophthalmological diseases, amblyopia, active or previous uveitis, previous ocular trauma, intraocular surgery within last 6 months, previous trabeculectomy, or refractive error with a spherical equivalent greater than ±3.0 D were excluded from the study. In order to minimize the effect of IOP on choroidal thickness, patients with IOP higher than 21 mmHg at the time of OCT image acquisition were not included in the study.