Changes in Retinal and Choroidal Vascular Blood Flow after Oral Sildenafil: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study

PURPOSE: To describe changes in the retina and choroidal flow by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) after a single dose of oral sildenafil. METHOD: A case-control study. Patients in the study group received 50 mg of oral sildenafil. Patients in the control group received a sham pill. Retinal and choroidal images were obtained at baseline (before pill ingestion) and 1 hour after ingestion. Central macular and choroidal thickness, choroidal and outer retina flow, and the retinal and choroidal vascular density were compared using a Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Twenty eyes were enrolled into the study group and 10 eyes in the control group. There was a significant difference in central choroidal thickness and outer retina blood flow between groups after 1 hour of sildenafil ingestion (p < 0.01). There were no differences in central macular thickness, choroidal flow, and retinal vascular density among groups. CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of oral sildenafil increases choroidal thickness, probably due to sildenafil-induced vasodilation.