Retinal Perfusion and Injury in Sepsis and after Major Surgery

Assess retinal perfusion in sepsis, compared with uncomplicated postoperative care and healthy controls, and assess the effects of reduced perfusion on retinal structure and visual function.

We conducted a prospective observational cohort study between March 2018 and December 2022, with follow-up measures collected 3 to 6 months after discharge.

Twenty-four patients with sepsis were assessed in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 3 to 6 months later, 45 ICU control patients assessed during elective ICU admission after upper gastrointestinal cancer surgery, preoperatively, and 3 to 6 months later, and 15 healthy controls.

Assessments included retinal layer thickness using OCT, retinal perfusion using OCT angiography, and visual function using Humphrey visual field analysis. Organ dysfunction was assessed by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scoring.

Superficial vascular plexus (SVP) retinal perfusion, OCT retinal ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness, and mean deviation (MD) on Humphrey visual field testing were evaluated.

Superficial vascular plexus retinal perfusion was 37.4% lower in patients with sepsis compared with ICU control patients (P < 0.001) and 59.7% lower than in healthy controls, which returned to normal by final follow-up. Retinal perfusion correlated with the SOFA score (Pearson r = -0.57, P < 0.001) and weakly correlated with C-reactive protein (r = -0.337, P = 0.01) and mean arterial pressure (r = 0.354, P = 0.006). In patients with sepsis and ICU controls, retinal perfusion in the ICU predicted subsequent GCL thickening, with every 1-unit decrease in SVP sum predicting a 1.88 μm increase in GCL thickness at follow-up (P = 0.003), and worsening visual field MD, with every 1-unit decrease in SVP sum predicting a 0.078 decibel lower MD (P = 0.023).

Retinal perfusion was impaired in patients with sepsis compared with both healthy controls and patients after major surgery. It was moderately associated with other measures of organ dysfunction assessed by SOFA. Reduced retinal perfusion in both patients with sepsis and patients after major surgery is strongly associated with subsequent GCL thickening and less strongly associated with decreased visual field MD, suggesting reduced retinal perfusion is associated with retinal damage, with consequent visual dysfunction.

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