Choroidal vascularity index in pseudoexfoliative glaucoma.
Objective: To evaluate choroidal vascular involvement in pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG) by applying the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) to optic coherence tomography (OCT) images.
Methods: Seventy-eight eyes from 40 subjects were included the study. Group 1 included healthy eyes (n = 20), group 2 eyes with PEX (n = 16), and group 3 eyes with PEXG (n = 42). OCT imaging of macular and peripapillary regions and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) analyses were performed. CVI was calculated using ImageJ software.
Results: The mean age was 64.89 ± 5.8, 71.2 ± 7.8, and 68.24 ± 7.4 years in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p = 0.046). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of sex (p = 0.777). In macula, mean CVI rates were 66.97 ± 1.9%, 64.23 ± 1.2%, and 64.63 ± 1.6%, and in the peripapillary areas, mean CVI rates were 67.04 ± 1.5%, 65.20 ± 1.5%, and 64.14 ± 2.1% in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (group 1 vs. group 2 and 3, p = 0.000; group 2 vs. group 3, p > 0.05). The decrease in average RNFL thickness was statistically significant in group 3 compared to groups 1 and 2.
Conclusions: CVI could be used to assess choroidal vascular changes in ocular diseases. CVI was found to be reduced in PEX and PEXG, indicating an ocular vascular involvement in pseudoexfoliative process.