Characteristics and correlation analysis of CDFI in contralateral healthy eye in patients with CRAO

To investigate hemodynamic changes in the ophthalmic artery(OA) and central retinal artery(CRA) of contralateral healthy eyes in patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) and their correlation with the affected eye.

This study included 36 patients with CRAO(affected eye group), 32 healthy contralateral eyes(healthy eye group), and 34 healthy volunteers(control group). All participants underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examinations, including best-corrected visual acuity(BCVA, converted to LogMAR for analysis), slit-lamp microscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, intraocular pressure measurement, and color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI). Patients with CRAO also underwent fundus fluorescein angiography(FFA) within 3 days of presentation.

Compared to the control group, the systolic peak velocity(Oamax) of the OA was decreased in the affected eyes but increased in the contralateral healthy eyes. The systolic peak velocity(CRAmax) of the CRA was significantly reduced in both the affected and contralateral healthy eyes compared to controls. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between various OA and CRA flow parameters(e.g.,,OAmax,OAPI,CRAmax,CRAPI,in the healthy eye and their corresponding affected eyes. Conversely, the central retinal artery pulsatility index(CRAPI) in healthy eyes was negatively correlated with the CRA minimum velocity(CRAmin) in affected eyes. Furthermore, in the contralateral healthy eye,CRAmax showed a positive correlation with the time from symptom onset to examination.

Blood flow in the contralateral healthy eyes of patients is altered and showed significant correlations with the hemodynamic parameters of the affected eyes, suggesting that these so-called "healthy" eyes may be affected by a CRAO event and could potentially have pre-existing subclinical abnormalities.