Evaluation of choroidal thickness in children with acute asthma attack by optical coherence tomography
Isil Kurultay1, Ozlem Sancakli2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Baskent University Zubeyde Hanim Practice and Research Center, Izmir, Turkey.
Insights
Asthma treatment with beta-2 agonists significantly reduced central choroidal thickness in children. Post-treatment measurements were similar to healthy controls, indicating a potential link between asthma control and ocular health.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Asthma is a common respiratory condition in children.
- Asthma exacerbations can impact systemic physiology.
- Choroidal thickness is a potential indicator of ocular and systemic health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of beta-2 agonist treatment on central choroidal thickness in children experiencing asthma attacks.
- To compare choroidal thickness in asthmatic children before and after treatment with healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Enhanced depth optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) was used to measure central choroidal thickness.
- 50 children (5-17 years) with asthma attacks and 30 healthy children were included.
- Pulmonary function tests (PEF, FEV1), oxygen saturation, and heart rate were also assessed.
Main Results:
- Central choroidal thickness significantly decreased after beta-2 agonist treatment (310.4 ± 34.2 μm to 302.7 ± 34.4 μm, p < 0.001).
- Pulmonary function (FEV1, PEF) and oxygen saturation significantly improved post-treatment.
- Post-treatment choroidal thickness was comparable to that of healthy controls (303.0 ± 7.3 μm).
Conclusions:
- Beta-2 agonist treatment for asthma attacks in children leads to a significant reduction in central choroidal thickness.
- The reduction in choroidal thickness post-treatment brings it closer to levels observed in healthy children.
- These findings suggest a potential connection between asthma control and ocular hemodynamics.
Objective:
To evaluate the change in central choroidal thickness in children with asthma attack before and after treatment with β2 agonists.
Materials And Methods:
About 100 eyes of 50 patients (5-17 years old) with visual acuity of 20/20 who had no retinal, choroidal, and systemic comorbidity were examined by enhanced depth optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) before and after asthma attack treatment. Sixty eyes of 30 healthy children of similar age and gender were evaluated as the control group. The central choroidal thickness, peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume 1(FEV1), oxygen saturation, and heart rate were evaluated.
Results:
The mean age of the patients was 9.2 ± 3.1 years, and the mean saturation values of patients was 97.2 ± 1.3 before treatment, and it increased to 98.3 ± 0.9 after treatment with a statistically significant difference. The mean FEV1 values were 80.8 ± 15.2 before, and 92.7 ± 12.9 after the treatment and PEF values were 75.9 ± 18.6 before and 89.3 ± 18.9 after treatment. This differences were statistically significant (p < 0.001). The average choroidal thickness before the treatment were 310.4 ± 34.2 μm and decreased to 302.7 ± 34.4 μm after the treatment, this decrease was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The mean choroidal thickness of the control group was 303.0 ± 7.3 μm and compared to the pre-treatment and post-treatment values, it was more similar to the post-treatment values, although there was no statistically difference.
Conclusion:
In our study, it was shown that choroidal thickness was significantly reduced in children with asthma who received attack treatment with β2 agonists, and it was similar to the control group after the treatment.
