ABSTRACT
Purpose: To describe the variance of inner, middle, and outer retinal layer thicknesses (IRT, MRT, and ORT) at the macular area in children and adolescents with normal eyes in different age groups. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled subjects aged 5-18 years with normal eyes. The macula was scanned by optical coherence tomography (6 mm × 6 mm AngioScan-Optovue). Four age groups were defined (≤7, 7-10, 11-14, and ≥14 years). The influences of age and gender were analyzed. Results: One hundred and thirty-nine eyes of 69 subjects with a mean age of 10.92 ± 3.51 years were registered. The mean whole macular thickness (MT) was 297.32 ± 11.05 in males and 303.197 ± 13.32 in females (P = 0.01, t-test). The MT in each aging group was 301.47 ± 2.5, 295.53 ± 1.71, 300.81 ± 2.12, and 298.6 ± 1.87, subsequently (P = 0.17, analysis of variance test). Significant differences were found between the sexes at the perifoveal area and mainly in IRT. No correlation between eyes was noted. We observed that the RT fluctuates during growth and that gender has some influence on the evolution of RT. IRT and MRT changed reciprocally in all macular areas, whereas ORT expanded in all age groups of children and adolescents. Conclusions: No subsegmental retinal thickness difference between eyes was observed in pediatric groups in this study, while gender had some influence on perifoveal IRT. Despite the fact that this study is not a longitudinal study, we can get some insight into the developmental changes in retinal thickness and its clinical applications in children and adolescents.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To investigate the macular microvascular changes after different kinds of chemotherapy in patients with extramacular retinoblastoma (RB). Methods: In this study, 28 eyes of 19 patients with bilateral RB treated with intravenous systemic chemotherapy (IVSC group) and 12 eyes of 12 patients with unilateral RB treated with intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC group) were compared with 6 normal fellow eyes of 6 patients with unilateral RB treated with IVSC (IVSC fellow eye group), and 7 normal fellow eyes of 7 unilateral RB patients treated with IAC (IAC fellow eye group), as well as 12 age-matched normal eyes. Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography measurements of central macular and subfoveal choroidal thickness (CMT and SFCT) as well as optical coherence tomography angiography measurements such as retinal superficial capillary density (SCD), deep capillary density (DCD), and choriocapillaris density were documented. Results: Images of 2 eyes in the IVSC group and 8 eyes in the IAC group were excluded from the final image analysis due to severe retinal atrophy. Overall, 26 eyes with bilateral RB treated with IVSC and 4 eyes of 4 patients with unilateral RB treated with IAC were compared with the mentioned control groups. Best-corrected visual acuity was 1.03 logMAR in the IAC patients compared to 0.46 logMAR in the IVSC group at the time of imaging. While the CMT and SFCT were lower in the IAC group in comparison with the IAC fellow eye and normal groups (P < 0.05 for all), no remarkable difference was observed between the IVSC group and the control groups based on the mentioned parameters. Although the SCD showed no significant difference between the IVSC and control groups, this parameter was significantly lower in the eyes receiving IAC relative to the corresponding fellow eye group (P = 0.042) and normal control eyes (P = 0.047). The mean DCD was considerably lower in both the treatment groups compared to the control groups (P < 0.05 for all). Conclusion: Our study showed a substantial decrease in SCD, DCD, CMT, and choroidal thickness in the IAC group, which may explain the lower visual outcome in this group.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study aimed at defining the variance of vessel density (VD) characteristics in the macula of children with normal eyes. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in which subjects with normal eyes aged 3-18 years were enrolled. The macula was scanned by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Four age groups as under 7 years, 7-10 years, 11-14 years and more than 14 years of age were defined. The influences of age, gender, and body mass index on VD were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 108 normal eyes from 54 participants with a mean age of 10.9 years were enrolled in the study. At the superficial and deep retina capillary plexus (SCP and DCP) and choriocapillaris (CC), respectively, the mean VD of the fovea was 20.10%, 36.99%, and 75.67%; at parafovea, these measurements were 53.12%, 55.81%, and 69.76%; and at perifovea, these measures were 51.38%, 52.46%, and 73.47%. The median foveal avascular zone (FAZ) was 0.30 mm2. No significant differences between superior-hemi VD and inferior-hemi VD were found in the studied plexuses. The VD at parafovea and perifovea CC differed significantly between groups. There was no variation in VD of macular retina and CC between eyes or sex. FAZ areas were different between genders. CONCLUSIONS: No difference between eyes and genders in the retina and CC VD of macular area was noted. FAZ area was larger in male. Even though this is not a longitudinal study, it may provide us with hints about macular vascular development during puberty and clinical implications of OCTA in children.
