Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2026
Assessing Early Stage Open-Angle Glaucoma in Patients by Isolated-Check Visual Evoked Potential
Published on: May 25, 2020
Assessing posterior ocular structures in β-thalassemia minor
Hasan Basri Arifoglu1, Bekir Kucuk2, Necati Duru2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Sanayi Mah. Atatürk Boulevard Hastane Street No: 78, 38010, Kayseri, Turkey. habasa@yahoo.com.
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of β-thalassemia minor on choroidal, macular, and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness.
Methods:
To form the sample, we recruited 40 patients with β-thalassemia minor and 44 healthy participants. We used spectral-domain optical coherence tomography to take all measurements of ocular thickness, as well as measured intraocular pressure, axial length, and central corneal thickness. We later analyzed correlations of hemoglobin levels with ocular parameters.
Results:
A statistically significant difference emerged between patients with β-thalassemia minor and the healthy controls in terms of mean values of subfoveal, nasal, and temporal choroidal thickness (p = 0.001, p = 0.016, and p = 0.010, respectively). Except for central macular thickness, differences in paracentral macular thicknesses between the groups were also significant (superior: p < 0.001, inferior: p = 0.007, temporal: p = 0.001, and nasal: p = 0.005). Also, no statistically significant differences were noted for retinal nerve fiber layer thickness between two groups.
Conclusion:
Mean values of subfoveal, nasal, temporal choroidal, and macular thickness for the four quadrants were significantly lower in patients with β-thalassemia minor than in healthy controls.
