Hemi-retinal vein occlusion: Characterizing a rare retinal vasculopathy

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Vascular Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Retinal vein occlusions (RVOs) are a significant cause of vision loss.
• Hemi-retinal vein occlusion (HRVO) is a less common subtype of RVO.
• Characterizing HRVO is crucial for understanding its impact and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the demographic, clinical, and visual outcomes of patients with hemi-retinal vein occlusion (HRVO).
• To compare HRVO characteristics with branch RVO (BRVO) and central RVO (CRVO).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 2,834,616 new patients from August 2010 to June 2021.
• Inclusion criteria: clinical diagnosis of HRVO in at least one eye.
• Data collected via electronic medical records and compared to BRVO and CRVO cohorts.

Main Results:

• HRVO accounted for 0.9% of RVO cases (n=191), with a mean age of 60.55 years; predominantly affecting males (65.45%) and presenting unilaterally (92.67%).
• Visual impairment was less severe in HRVO (25.8% < 20/200) compared to CRVO (44.1%) (P < 0.00001).
• Glaucoma was diagnosed in 23.90% of HRVO eyes, significantly higher than CRVO (11.45%) and BRVO (5.04%) (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• HRVO is a rare RVO, more prevalent in males, and associated with less severe visual impairment than CRVO.
• Systemic risk factors, apart from age, are infrequently identified in HRVO patients.
• Pre-existing glaucoma is a notable comorbidity in HRVO, more so than in other RVO types.