Assessment of Choroidal Structure in Third-Trimester Pregnant Women
Selda Celik Dulger1, Sümeyra Koprubasi2, Ertugrul Koylu1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Purpose:
To investigate the effects of pregnancy on choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and choroidal thickness (CT) in the third trimester.
Methods:
This prospective and cross-sectional study included 51 eyes of 51 healthy pregnant women in the third trimester and 50 eyes of 50 healthy age-matched participants as a control group. Full ophthalmologic examinations, including best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, axial length (AL), and anterior chamber depth (Lenstar LS900 HAAG-STREIT AG, Switzerland), and refractive error measurements were performed. CT was measured manually with optical coherence tomography at the fovea, 1500 μm temporal, and 1500 μm nasal to the fovea. The total choroidal area (TCA), luminal choroidal area (LCA), and stromal choroidal area (SCA) were evaluated by the binarization method. The ratio of the luminal area to the TCA was used as the CVI value.
Results:
There was no statistically significant difference in AL or age between the two groups (P < 0.05). The TCA, LCA, and SCA values were greater in the pregnant group (P = 0.007, 0.011, and <0.001, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences in terms of CVI and CT at three regions between the two groups (P = 0.080, P = 0.294, P = 0.287, and P = 0.107).
Conclusion:
Remarkable hemodynamic and hormonal changes take place during pregnancy. A significant increase in the total choroidal, luminal, and stromal areas was detected in pregnant women during the third trimester, although the CVI and CT demonstrated no difference between the groups.
