Optical coherence tomography in patients with Chiari I malformation

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neurology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Chiari I malformation (CMI) is a neurological condition.
• Optic nerve head evaluation is crucial for diagnosing neurological disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively assess optic nerve head parameters using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with CMI.
• To compare OCT findings in CMI patients with age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study design.
• Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to analyze the optic nerve head in 22 CMI patients and 22 controls.
• Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was measured quantitatively in each eye, quadrant, and subfield.

Main Results:

• CMI patients exhibited a significant reduction in RNFL thickness in both eyes compared to controls.
• The reduction was most pronounced in the inferior quadrant of the right eye and across all quadrants (except nasal) in the left eye.
• Statistical significance (P < 0.05) was observed for these reductions.

Conclusions:

• Reduced RNFL thickness in CMI patients likely indicates retinal nerve fiber distress.
• The presence of syringomyelia alongside CMI may be associated with a less pronounced RNFL thickness reduction.
• OCT is a valuable tool for detecting subtle optic nerve head changes in CMI.