Peripapillary choroidal thickness in healthy Turkish subjects

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Anatomy
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Peripapillary choroidal thickness (CT) is a key parameter in ophthalmic research.
• Understanding normal CT variations is crucial for diagnosing and managing eye diseases.
• Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) provides high-resolution imaging of the choroid.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the normal peripapillary choroidal thickness (CT) in healthy Turkish individuals.
• To investigate potential regional differences in peripapillary CT within the Turkish population.
• To establish reference values for peripapillary CT using EDI-OCT.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cross-sectional study involving 57 healthy Turkish subjects.
• Comprehensive ophthalmic examination for all participants.
• Peripapillary CT measurement using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT).

Main Results:

• The mean peripapillary CT was 225±57 μm (superior), 183±47 μm (inferior), 220±57 μm (nasal), and 233±59 μm (temporal).
• Inferior peripapillary CT was significantly lower than superior, nasal, and temporal measurements (P<0.001).
• No significant differences were observed between superior, nasal, and temporal peripapillary CT values.

Conclusions:

• Turkish individuals exhibit significantly lower peripapillary choroidal thickness in the inferior quadrant compared to other quadrants.
• These findings contribute to the understanding of ethnic variations in choroidal anatomy.
• The study provides normative data for peripapillary CT in a Turkish cohort, valuable for clinical interpretation.