Association between serous macular detachment and choroidal vascular architecture in treatment-Naïve branch retinal...

Branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) is a common retinal vascular disorder that can cause visual impairment through macular edema and ischemia. The primary aim of this study was to investigate choroidal structural changes in treatment-naïve BRVO patients. The secondary aim was to assess the impact of serous macular detachment (SMD) on choroidal parameters.

This single-center, retrospective cross-sectional study included 88 patients with unilateral BRVO. Eyes with BRVO, fellow eyes, and age- and sex-matched controls were classified as Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively; Group 1 was further subdivided by SMD presence. Choroidal assessment included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT), subfoveal and parafoveal choroidal thicknesses-subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), subfoveal nasal choroidal thickness (SFNCT), subfoveal temporal choroidal thickness (SFTCT), submacular nasal choroidal thickness (SMNCT), and submacular temporal choroidal thickness (SMTCT)-and choroidal vascularity index (CVI). Group comparisons used Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test for two groups, and one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test for three groups. Correlations were analyzed using Pearson or Spearman coefficients. p < 0.05 was considered significant.

Group 1 (BRVO eyes) showed significantly lower subfoveal and submacular CVI values compared with Groups 2 (fellow eyes) and 3 (controls) (p < 0.001). SFCT was significantly higher in Group 1 than in Groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). Within Group 1, eyes with SMD had lower BCVA and subfoveal CVI than those without SMD (p = 0.003 and p = 0.009, respectively).

Our findings suggest that in BRVO, the presence of SMD may be associated with reduced subfoveal CVI (SFCVI), indicating potential choroidal vascular alterations that may vary according to the type of macular edema. These observations warrant further investigation and may guide future, more comprehensive studies to better understand BRVO pathophysiology.