Contrast sensitivity and imaging findings in patients with idiopathic focal choroidal excavation
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Published on: May 26, 2023
Masataka Yamaoka1, Noriko Kubota2, Kazuhiko Unoki3
1Department of Ophthalmology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan.
Purpose:
To evaluate contrast sensitivity (CS) in eyes with idiopathic focal choroidal excavation (iFCE) and to investigate its association with morphological imaging findings.
Study Design:
A retrospective, cross-sectional observational study.
Methods:
This retrospective observational study included 13 eyes of 12 patients with iFCE and 13 eyes of 13 age-matched healthy controls. CS was measured at six spatial frequencies (0.64 - 6.3 cycles per degree [cpd]) under glare-on and glare-off conditions, and the area under the log contrast sensitivity function (AULCSF) was calculated. In addition, associations between CS and optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters, including maximum FCE diameter, FCE depth, and foveal choroidal thickness (FCT), as well as fundus autofluorescence (FAF) findings, were analyzed in eyes with iFCE.
Results:
Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was well preserved in eyes with iFCE. After Holm correction, AULCSF was significantly lower in the iFCE group than in the control group under both glare-on and glare-off conditions (adjusted p = 0.0010 and 0.0056, respectively). Under glare-on conditions, contrast thresholds were significantly higher in the iFCE group at all six spatial frequencies. Under glare-off conditions, significant differences remained at 2.5, 1.0, and 0.64 cpd after Holm correction. No association between AULCSF and the clinical or imaging variables remained statistically significant after correction. Nominal negative correlations were observed between FCT and glare-off contrast thresholds at 6.3 and 4.0 cpd; however, neither association remained statistically significant after Holm correction.
Conclusion:
Eyes with iFCE showed reduced contrast performance despite preserved visual acuity. These preliminary findings require confirmation in larger studies.
