Macular choroidal thickness in non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy

To analyse macular choroidal thickness (MCT) in non-arteritic ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

An analysis was made on 22 patients diagnosed with NAION (22 eyes) and 42 healthy controls (42 eyes) using enhanced-depth imaging of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. A horizontal raster scan centred on the fovea was obtained per eye 3 months after the onset of NAION. Three measurements of MCT were obtained from the posterior edge of the retinal pigment epithelium to the choroid-sclera junction at 500μm intervals. Statistical analysis was used to compare the mean MCT and to correlate MCT with other ocular and systemic parameters.

Except for refractive error (P=.01), there were no statistically significant differences between both groups in axial length (P=.53), age (P=.88) and other epidemiological and ocular parameters. Mean MCT in NAION eyes and control group was 236.21±63.29μm and 269.13±52.28, respectively. Mean MCT was significantly thinner in NAION eyes than in healthy eyes (P=.03). Thinner MCT, adjusted for refractive error, was associated with the diagnosis of NAION (P=.04).

Eyes affected by NAION showed significantly thinner MCT compared with healthy control eyes after adjusting for refractive error.