Focal lamina cribrosa defects and significant peripapillary choroidal thinning in patients with unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of focal lamina cribrosa (LC) defects in patients with unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and to compare ocular characteristics between eyes with and without focal LC defect and those eyes with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study included 121 patients. Thirty-nine patients had unilateral BRVO (BRVO group), 36 patients had NTG (NTG group), and 36 patients had vitreous floaters, but no other ocular diseases (control group). In addition to baseline characteristics such as age, sex, refractive errors, the ocular characteristics such as peripapillary choroidal thickness (PCT), retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, and subfoveal choroidal thickness were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Focal LC defects were detected in 20 eyes of 14 patients (38.9%) in the BRVO group, 24 eyes of 15 patients (41.7%) in the NTG group, and none in the control group (P<0.001). In the BRVO-affected eyes, the mean PCT was 102.7±31.1 μm in the eyes with focal LC defects, and 163.1±70.1 μm in the eyes without LC defects (P = 0.009). In the BRVO-affected eyes, the mean PCT was 102.7±31.1 μm in the eyes with focal LC defects, and 163.1±70.1 μm in the eyes without LC defects (P = 0.009). In the NTG group, the mean PCT was 133.1±48.9 μm in the eyes with focal LC defects and 170.8±81.9 μm in those without (P = 0.042). The other baseline and ocular characteristics were not significantly different between the eyes with and without focal LC defects in both the BRVO group and the NTG group. CONCLUSIONS: About 40% of the patients with unilateral BRVO had focal LC defect in the BRVO-affected eyes and unaffected fellow eyes, similar prevalence to the patients with NTG. The mean PCT was significantly thinner in the eyes with focal LC defect than those without in the patients with BRVO and those with NTG, suggesting possible pathophysiologic correlation between these two diseases.