Hemodynamics of the temporal and nasal short posterior ciliary arteries in pseudoexfoliation syndrome

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate blood flow changes in the temporal and nasal short posterior ciliary arteries (SPCAs) in pseudoexfoliation syndrome using color Doppler ultrasonography. Methods This prospective clinical study included 67 eyes of 53 patients scheduled for cataract surgery. Pseudophakic eyes, eyes with traumatic cataract, were excluded. The demographic characteristic of the patients were recorded. Ocular blood flow was measured using 6-10 MHz Doppler ultrasound. Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), mean flow velocity (Vm), and resistive index (RI) in the temporal and nasal SPCAs were determined for 39 eyes of 30 patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and cataract and a control group comprising 28 eyes of 23 patients with senile cataract. Results Compared to the control group, patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome had significantly lower PSV (8.85 +/- 2.88 cm/s), EDV (3.21 +/- 1.12 cm/s), and Vm (5.27 +/- 1.98 cm/s) in the temporal SPCA (PSVP = .001; EDVP = .002; VmP = .001). There was no difference in velocities in the nasal SPCA. RI of both the temporal and nasal SPCA did not differ statistically between the groups (temporal SPCAP = .517, nasal SPCAP = .752) Conclusion There were significant decreases in temporal SPCA hemodynamic parameters in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. These findings suggest that temporal SPCA ocular blood flow measurements have greater diagnostic value than those of the nasal SPCA.