Choroidal alterations during the clinical course of commotio retinae

To analyse the alterations in the choroidal structure of eyes with commotio retinae due to blunt-force trauma.

This retrospective study included 51 eyes of 50 patients who underwent swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) during their initial visit and throughout their clinical course between March 2013 and February 2020.

This study focused on four choroidal measures: comparison of central choroidal thickness (CCT) between the injured and contralateral eyes immediately after injury, changes in the CCT, ratio of choroidal luminal and stromal properties in the injured eye during the clinical course and change in the suprachoroidal structure of the injured eye.

In 44 eyes, the CCT was successfully compared between the injured and contralateral eyes. In 30 of these eyes (70%), the CCT in the injured eye was significantly thinner than that in the contralateral eye (P < 0.01). In 33 eyes, the clinical course of the injured eyes was followed. The CCT was increased and decreased by >30 μm in 11 (33%) and 6 eyes (18%), respectively, and remained the same in 16 eyes (49%). The ratio of luminal and stromal areas in the choroid had significantly increased from 1.72 ± 0.54 at the initial visit to 1.87 ± 0.55 at the last visit (P < 0.001). In four eyes, a hemispherical dark space was observed beneath the sclerochoroidal interphase at the initial visit.

The choroidal structure and its luminal and stromal properties are dynamically altered during the clinical course of commotio retinae.