OPHTHALMIC ARTERY AND CENTRAL RETINAL ARTERY DOPPLER PATTERNS IN PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA PATIENTS AT THE LAGOS...

Circulatory abnormalities of retrobulbar vessels are increasingly being linked to the aetiopathogenesis of primary open angle glaucoma. These abnormalities can be assessed with a colour Doppler Imaging of retrobulbar vessels.

To compare the Doppler ultrasound patterns of central retinal artery and ophthalmic artery in new patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) diagnosis with those of non-glaucomatous group.

A hospital-based, comparative, cross-sectional study.

Department of Ophthalmology (Guinness Eye Centre) and Department of Radiology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Nigeria.

End diastolic velocity (EDV), Peak systolic velocity (PSV) and resistivity index (RI) were measured in the central retinal artery (CRA) and ophthalmic artery (OA) of both eyes of newly diagnosed POAG patients. The CDI values of newly diagnosed POAG patients were compared with age-gender matched non-glaucomatous group. The Doppler values of the better and worse eye of patients with asymmetrical POAG were also compared.

One hundred subjects (200 eyes) comprising of 50 POAG patients and 50 non-glaucomatous healthy subjects were recruited for this study. The male to female ratio was 1:1.1(24 males and 26 females) for POAG patients and 1:1 (25 males and 25 females) for non-glaucomatous subjects. The CRA and OA in both eyes of POAG patients had a significantly lower mean EDV and PSV compared with those of non-glaucomatous group (p< 0.001). The CRA and OA in both eyes of POAG patients had a significantly higher mean RI compared with those of non-glaucomatous group (p< 0.001). A significant positive Pearson correlation was seen between the IOP and the RI in the CRA and OA in both eyes. Also, statistically significant negative Pearson correlations were seen between the IOP and the PSV and EDV in the OA and CRA in both eyes.

This study demonstrated a significant reduction in EDV and PSV as well as an increase in RI of the CRA and OA in both eyes among POAG patients compared to the non-glaucomatous group.