ABSTRACT
SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Catheter ablation procedure may cause retinal complications associated with the risk of thromboembolism. We aimed to evaluate retina and optic disc microvascularity with optical coherence tomography angiography before and after the catheter ablation process in patients with ventricular arrhythmia. METHODS: A total of 40 eyes of 21 ventricular arrhythmia patients were included in this cross-sectional study. Demographic characteristics and ophthalmic examination findings of patients were recorded. optical coherence tomography angiography measurements were evaluated before (group 1) and after (group 2) catheter ablation. Optical coherence tomography angiography was applied to all eyes with 6×6 mm sections for the macula and 4.5×4.5 mm sections for the optic nerve head. Foveal retinal thickness, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, vessel density in different parts of the retina, and optic disc were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age of ventricular arrhythmia patients was 53.48±13.02 years. In all, 13 (61.9%) of the patients were males and 8 (38.1%) were females. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of average, inferior, superior, and temporal retinal nerve fiber layer thicknesses, foveal avascular area, flow areas, superficial and deep vessel densities, and optic disc capillary densities of the optic disc. However, when compared with group 1, significantly lower values in foveal retinal thickness and higher values in nasal retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were observed in group 2 (248.42±20.50 vs. 247.20±20.44, p<0.001 and 94.22±18.43 vs. 96.12±20.18, p=0.044, respectively). CONCLUSION: Although foveal retinal thickness and nasal retinal nerve fiber layer thickness are affected in patients undergoing catheter ablation for ventricular arrhythmia, the stable retinal and optic disc vessel densities can be explained by the administration of effective anticoagulants during the procedure.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To evaluate the retinal and optic disc microvascular changes according to disease severity in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the correlation of pulmonary parameters with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) findings. Methods: Forty patients with COPD and 30 age? and sex?matched subjects (control group) were included in this cross?sectional prospective study. The COPD group was then divided into two subgroups according to GOLD classification and disease severity as mild?to?moderate COPD group (group 1) and severe COPD group (group 2). OCTA was performed with 6 mm × 6 mm sections for the macula and 4.5 mm × 4.5 mm sections for the optic disc. Foveal retinal thickness (FRT), peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and vessel density in different sections of the retina and optic disc were analyzed. Results: The mean ages, gender, intraocular pressures, peripapillary RNFL thickness, FRT, and optic disc vessel densities were similar among the groups. Compared to the control group and group 1, group 2 showed significantly lower mean foveal vessel density measurements in superficial and deep capillary plexus (P = 0.014 and P = 0.007, respectively). Cigarette packets/year, exacerbation per year, and Modified Medical Research Council showed significant negative correlations, whereas forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and FEV1/forced vital capacity showed significant positive correlations with foveal vessel densities. Conclusion: COPD severity seems to have a negative effect on OCTA measurements. OCTA may reflect the severity of inflammation and hypoxia in COPD and may provide useful detailed information on the role of retinal vascular changes in the follow?up and progression of patients with COPD.