Evaluation of lamina cribrosa thickness in patients diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion

Purpose To evaluate the thickness of lamina cribrosa (LC) in both eyes of patients with unilateral central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and to compare with eyes of age-matched healthy control subjects. Methods This prospective case-control study included a total of 38 patients with unilateral CRVO and 42 healthy control subjects. The LC thickness was measured at the center of the optic disc using an enhanced depth imaging with the spectral domain optical coherence tomography in both eyes of patients with unilateral CRVO and eyes of healthy control subjects. The LC thickness of CRVO patients was evaluated one month after dexamethasone intravitreal implant (Ozurdex) injection. Results The mean LC thickness in affected eyes of patients with CRVO was significantly thinner than that of the healthy eyes (204.4 +/- 8.8 and 228.0 +/- 7.1 mu m, p < 0.001, respectively). Also, the unaffected fellow eyes had significantly thinner LC compared with eyes of healthy subjects (205.3 +/- 9.3 and 228.0 +/- 7.1 mu m, p < 0.001, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in the thickness of LC between the affected and unaffected fellow eyes (p = 0.669). Conclusions The LC thickness in both eyes of CRVO patients was thinner than that of the healthy eyes. This finding suggests that thin LC may contribute to the development of CRVO as an ocular risk factor in addition to systemic factors.