Abstract:

Objective: The evaluation of choroidal thickness measurements became possible after the developments in optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology. This study aimed to evaluate choroidal features in Retinitis Pigmentosa subjects with EDI (Enhanced depth imaging) mode spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Material and Method: A hundred and three eyes of 54 RP subjects underwent scanning with EDI-OCT for central retinal and choroidal thickness measurements and were compared with 40 healthy controls. Submacular choroidal thickness measurements were obtained beneath the fovea and at 500 µm intervals for 2.5 mm nasal and temporal to the center of the fovea. Results: Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness measurements were 253.2±74.9 µm in RP patients and 336.2±91.7 µm in control (p<0.0001). There was no correlation between subfoveal choroidal thickness and visual acuity in RP patients. The choroid had an irregular shape in 85 % of RP patients. The thickest point of the choroid was not subfoveal as in healthy eyes, and excessive nasal thinning of the choroid was observed in 93 % of RP patients. Conclusion: Submacular choroidal thickness was significantly reduced but did not correlate with the visual acuity in RP patients.

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