ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe the morphological characteristics of retinal vessels in patients with ischemic stroke, and to preliminary analyze the correlation between retinal vascular morphological parameters and ischemic stroke.Methods:A retrospective study. From May 2015 to May 2017, 73 patients with ischemic stroke (ischemic stroke group) confirmed by examination at the Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University were included in this study. In addition, 146 patients were included in the control group. A total of 146 patients with acute stroke who were excluded by head CT and/or magnetic resonance imaging were selected as the control group. Fundus images of patients were collected by nonmydriatic fundus camera. Retinal vascular parameters were measured by artificial intelligence fundus image analysis system, included retinal artery and vein caliber as well as vascular curvature, branching angle, fractal dimension, and density. The morphological characteristics of retinal vessels were compared between the control and ischemic stroke groups, and correlation between the retinal vascular parameters and ischemic stroke was analyzed using binary logistic regression.Results:Compared with the control group, the ischemic stroke group had thinner retinal artery caliber, smaller retinal vascular fractal dimension, and lower retinal vascular density; moreover, these differences were statistically significant ( t=3.232, 3.502, 3.280; P<0.05). Vascular fractal dimension [odds ratio ( OR)=0.291, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 0.160-0.528] and retinal artery caliber ( OR=0.924, 95% CI 0.870-0.981) were strongly correlated with ischemic stroke ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Compared with the control group, the retinal artery caliber, fractal dimension and retinal vascular density in ischemic stroke group are smaller; decreased retinal artery caliber and fractal dimension are correlated with ischemic stroke.