Peripapillary vessel density in pediatric cases with buried optic disk drusen

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pediatric Optometry
• Neuro-ophthalmology

Background:

• Optic disc drusen (ODD) can mimic papilledema in children.
• Evaluating ODD's impact on optic nerve head vasculature and structure is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and peripapillary vascular density (VD) in pediatric patients with ODD.
• To compare these parameters between children with ODD and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 60 eyes from 30 pediatric patients diagnosed with buried ODD.
• Inclusion of 60 eyes from 30 healthy children as a control group.
• Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) used to measure RNFL thickness and peripapillary VD in all quadrants.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in age or gender between the ODD and control groups.
• Significantly lower peripapillary VD in all four quadrants (inferior, superior, nasal, temporal) in the ODD group compared to controls (p < 0.001 for INF, SUP, TEMP; p = 0.003 for NAS).
• Significantly increased nasal RNFL thickness in the ODD group compared to controls (p = 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Pediatric ODD is linked to reduced peripapillary vascular density across all quadrants.
• Nasal peripapillary RNFL thickening is observed in pediatric cases of ODD.
• Further research is needed to elucidate the pathogenesis of ODD and its effects on optic nerve head perfusion and complications.