New Observations regarding the Assessment of Cilioretinal Arteries Coexistence with Optic Disc Pit

Purpose: To investigate the coexistence of cilioretinal arteries (CRAs) with optic disc pit (ODP), and to delineate the characteristics of CRAs related to their number, location of their emergence and their association with the size of ODP. Methods: 47 patients (49 eyes) with ODP were diagnosed and followed-up between 1997 and 2017, using slit-lamp biomicroscopy, color fundus photographs, fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography. The presence of CRAs was recorded in association with the size of the ODP, along with their number and location of emergence. The fellow normal eyes of patients were also analyzed. Results: 42 out of 49 eyes with ODP (85.7%) presented CRAs. In 35 out of 42 eyes (83.3%) CRAs emerged from the pit, either from bottom or from its margin. In 7.1% of cases, CRAs were emerged outside the ODP, while in 9.6% of cases, the type of CRA emergence could be characterized as mixed. The number of CRAs, that ranged from 1 to 4, was positively associated with ODP size. In the fellow normal eyes, CRAs was found in 22.2% of cases, difference which was significant compared to patients with ODP. Conclusion: Based on the high percentage of CRAs coexistence with ODP and the excessive frequency of their emergence from ODP (83.3%), it is supported that ODP as a developmental disorder could go along with further anatomic peculiarities, that also include the presence of multiple CRAs.