Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 6, 2025
Retinal and Choroidal Thickness Changes in Populations with Helicobacter pylori Infection by Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: November 1, 2024
OCT Evaluation of Retinal Parameters in Pediatric Gastritis Patients with Helicobacter Pylori
Mehmet Fatih Kocamaz1, Gulseren Sahin2, Ferda Ozbay Hosnut2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Bursa City Hospital, Bursa, Turkey.
Insights
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in children with gastritis was linked to increased subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT). This study explored H. pylori
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Gastroenterology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a common gastrointestinal pathogen.
- Ocular manifestations in adults with H. pylori infection are documented.
- Ocular findings in pediatric H. pylori gastritis remain understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of H. pylori infection on ocular structures in children with gastritis.
- To assess choroidal thickness (CT), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and ganglion cell complex (GCL+IPL) thickness in pediatric H. pylori gastritis.
Main Methods:
- Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was used for measurements.
- Study included 52 children (104 eyes) divided into H. pylori gastritis and non-H. pylori gastritis groups.
- Measurements included subfoveal, submacular, and peripapillary CT, RNFL, and GCL+IPL thickness.
Main Results:
- Significantly higher mean subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) was observed in children with H. pylori gastritis (p=0.042).
- No statistically significant differences were found in submacular CT, peripapillary CT, RNFL thickness, or GCL+IPL thickness between groups.
- Trends suggested greater CT in the H. pylori group, though not reaching statistical significance for all measures.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric H. pylori gastritis is associated with increased subfoveal choroidal thickness.
- Further research is warranted to understand the long-term ocular implications of H. pylori infection in children.
- This study highlights a potential link between H. pylori infection and ocular changes in pediatric patients.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection on choroidal thickness (CT), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and ganglion cell (GCL+IPL) complex thickness in childhood cases of gastritis.
Methods:
A total of 104 eyes of 52 children were included in the study. Two groups were created: 54 eyes of 27 H. pylori gastritis cases (Group 1) and 50 eyes of 25 gastritis without H. pylori cases (Group 2), as confirmed by an endoscopic biopsy. The mean subfoveal, submacular, and peripapillary CT, RNFL thickness, and GCL+IPL complex thickness was measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography.
Results:
The mean subfoveal CT values were significantly higher in Group 1 compared with Group 2 (p=0.042). The mean submacular CT and peripapillary CT measurements of the eyes in Group 1 was greater than that of Group 2, but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). There was also no statistically significant difference between the GCL+IPL complex or RNFL thickness values of the groups (p>0.05).
Conclusion:
H. pylori is a common gastrointestinal infectious agent with asymptomatic carriers in the population. The role of this agent in ocular pathologies in adult patients has been the subject of many recent studies, but secondary ocular findings in patients with H. pylori gastritis in childhood have not yet been investigated. The results of this study showed that the subfoveal CT value was significantly greater in children with H. pylori gastritis.
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