Choroidal Thickness In Patients With Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Abstract

Purpose: To study choroidal thickness in patients with Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by using the enhanced depth imaging of optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) and the factors affecting this thickness.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study included 96 eyes of 54 patients with dry and wet types of Age-related macular degeneration attending the ophthalmology clinics at Al-Mouwasat University Hospital in Damascus during the period from June 2019 to January 2021. A comprehensive ophthalmological examination and optical tomography were performed using enhanced depth imaging of the Heidelberg Spectralis device, then subfoveal choroidal thickness was measured manually. The data were collected and analyzed statistically to correlate subfoveal choroidal thickness with different variables.

Results: The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness in patients with AMD was 222.85 ± 92.6 µm,the mean age was 69.16 ± 8.68 years, and the mean thickness in the dry type was 216.43 ± 89.46 µm compared to 233.56 ± 97.95 µm in the wet type. There was a moderately strong inverse correlation between subfoveal choroidal thickness and age (r = -0.583, P=0.0002), and this correlation appeared in both the dry and wet types. The choroid was thinner in the dry type in eyes that underwent cataract surgery (P=0.02). There was no relationship between subfoveal choroidal thickness and either of sex, axial length, intraocular pressure, the number of intravitreal injections, and corrected visual acuity, as well as for diabetes, hypertension and smoking.

Conclusions: This study shows a relationship between choroidal thickness and Age-related macular degeneration, and the possibility of measuring this thickness using EDI-OCT technology for a deeper understanding of the changes that occur in the choroid in the course of this disease.