SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF PERIPAPILLARY CHOROIDAL THICKNESS IN PATIENTS WITH UNILATERAL BRANCH RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION

Purpose: To evaluate changes in peripapillary choroidal thickness in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) over 12 months, using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography with enhanced depth imaging. Methods: This retrospective, interventional case series included 20 treatment-naive patients with unilateral BRVO with at least 12 months follow-up. The peripapillary choroidal thickness was measured over 12 months. Results: In BRVO-affected eyes, the mean peripapillary choroidal thickness was 213.5 +/- 51.7 mm (126.1-326.9 mm) at baseline and 129.6 +/- 39.3 mm (65.9-197.1 mm) at 12 months. In nonaffected contralateral eyes, the mean peripapillary choroidal thickness was 194.1 +/- 39.8 mm (158.5-238.3 mm) at baseline and 156.6 +/- 56.2 mm (125.9-213.9 mm) at 12 months. The mean peripapillary choroidal thickness decreased significantly over 12 months in both BRVO-affected and nonaffected eyes (P < 0.001, both eyes). Although the mean peripapillary choroidal thickness was not significantly different between groups at baseline (P = 0.472), it was significantly lower in BRVO-affected eyes than in nonaffected eyes at 12 months (P = 0.036). Conclusion: Peripapillary choroidal thickness decreased significantly over 12 months in BRVO-affected eyes and nonaffected eyes in patients with unilateral BRVO.