Posters

Choroidal thickness changes following cataract surgery

Poster Details

First Author: R. Shahzad PAKISTAN

Co Author(s):    R. Siddiqui   S. Zafar   M. Shahzad              

Abstract Details

Purpose:

Choroidal thickness can be subject to alteration in various ocular pathologies as well as following ocular surgeries. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in sub-foveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), measured using the swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), following phacoemulsification and intra-ocular lens implant.

Setting:

The study took place at Shahzad Eye Hospital, in Karachi, Pakistan, from April 2015 to January 2016.

Methods:

This was a prospective, interventional, controlled study comprising 50 consecutive patients undergoing cataract removal. One eye per patient was included. SS-OCT scans were performed pre-operatively, one week post-operatively and one month post-operatively, for both eyes. The un-operated eyes were taken as controls. Each scan was done sequentially and under standardised conditions. Two independent graders evaluated the scans to measure the SFCT. Data normality was evaluated using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Paired t-tests and inter-class coefficients (ICCs) were used to assess a statistically significant difference between preoperative and postoperative SFCT. Probability values of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.

Results:

The mean pre-op SFCT in the study eye was 281.04±98.923, and 288.61±102.236 and 290.41±105.829 at week-1 and month-1, respectively. In the control eye, the pre-op, week-1 and month-1 SFCT was 279.76±97.857, 279.22±98.235, and 286.12±103.583 at week-1, respectively. Comparison of pre-op SFCT with week-1 and month-1 had a probability value of 0.104 and 0.128, revealing that the change in SFCT at both week-1 and month-1 was not statistically significant. Intra-reader ICCs of grader 1 for pre-op, week-1 and month-1 readings were 0.977, 0.990, and 0.980, and those of grader 2 were 0.960, 0.969, and 0.973, respectively. The inter-reader ICCs for pre-op, week-1 and month-1 readings were 0.978, 0.994, and 0.994.

Conclusions:

There was a gradual, subtle increase in SFCT till one month after cataract removal in the study eye. However, the change in SFCT was not statistically significant.

Financial Disclosure:

NONE