Quantitative assessment of intervortex anastomosis in central serous chorioretinopathy and fellow eyes: Does the size of anastomotic vessels matter for the diagnosis?
Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, vol.262, no.11, pp.3509-3517, 2024 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 262 Issue: 11
- Publication Date: 2024
- Doi Number: 10.1007/s00417-024-06517-7
- Journal Name: Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Veterinary Science Database
- Page Numbers: pp.3509-3517
- Keywords: Central serous chorioretinopathy, Choroidal vascularity index, Intervortex venous anastomosis
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Ankara University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the frequency and size of intervortex anastomosis at the posterior pole on en-face spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) cases and their fellow eyes and its associations with choroidal morphology. Methods: Sixty-five treatment-naive eyes of 65 patients with CSC, 65 fellow eyes, and 55 eyes of healthy age-matched participants were included. The presence of intervortex anastomosis at the watershed zone and asymmetry of the choroidal vessels between the superior and inferior macula were evaluated using 6 × 6 mm en-face SD-OCT. The diameter of the widest Haller vessel and the diameter of the widest anastomotic Haller vessel passing through the watershed zone were measured on en-face SD-OCT images. The choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was assessed using ImageJ software. Results: Intervortex vein anastomosis on the horizontal watershed zone was detected in 75.4% diseased eyes, 61.5% in fellow eyes, and 36.4% in healthy age-matched controls (p < 0.001). The mean CVI was significantly higher in both diseased (74.3 ± 2.3%) and fellow (73.8 ± 2.2%) eyes of CSC cases than in healthy controls (72.5 ± 2.3%) (p = 0.002, p = 0.013, respectively). In the cases with intervortex vein anastomosis, the diameter of the widest anastomotic Haller vessel passing through the watershed zone was 0.40 ± 0.10 mm in diseased eyes, 0.35 ± 0.11 mm in fellow eyes, and 0.30 ± 0.09 mm in healthy age-matched controls (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Intervortex anastomosis might be seen as a variation in normal eyes, however, its frequency and the size of anastomotic vessels are significant higher in not only CSC but also in fellow eyes. (Figure presented.)