Prospective Longitudinal Evaluation of the Peripheral Choroidal Thickness in High-Risk Infants with Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to prospectively follow up the peripheral choroidal development and thickness for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in high-risk premature infants using optic coherence tomography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All infants included in the analysis had an optical coherence tomography (OCT) evaluation, serially over 6 weeks, starting at the first ROP screening exam and at each follow-up screening exam. We included infants born at or earlier than 25 weeks of gestation, weighing less than 700 grams, and those who developed interventricular hemorrhage. We evaluated the choroidal thickness and development, centrally and at the extreme nasal and temporal periphery, for each eye with each ROP screening exam. Changes in the choroidal thickness and the choroidal thickness to retinal thickness ratio (C/R ratio) were evaluated over time not only for each individual infant, but between the infants as well. RESULTS: Six infants met our inclusion criteria. Infants with severe ROP had a mean choroidal thickness that was significantly thinner in the extreme temporal periphery than infants that did not develop significant ROP (P=0.02). The mean value of the C/R ratio was smaller in infants with severe ROP compared to those that did not develop any significant ROP at any of the evaluated locations (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The peripheral choroid appears to be significantly thinner relative to the retinal thickness in infants with severe ROP.