RESEARCH ARTICLE
Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Findings in β-Thalassemia Patients in Two Age Groups
Hany Mahmoud1, *, Eman H. Salama2, Asmaa A. Abdel-baset3, Mahmoud Gaber3, Eman Mohamed Fahmy4, Dalia Tohamy5, Mohamed Anbar1, Engy M. Mostafa1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2022Volume: 16
E-location ID: e187436412211110
Publisher ID: e187436412211110
DOI: 10.2174/18743641-v16-e221115-2022-13
Article History:
Received Date: 18/4/2022Revision Received Date: 5/10/2022
Acceptance Date: 20/10/2022
Electronic publication date: 30/12/2022
Collection year: 2022
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Purpose:
β- thalassemia major causes hypoxia, which affects the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), causing apoptosis. The frequent blood transfusion in transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) accumulates ferritin, causing more damage. Using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA), we aim to compare these changes in Youngs and adults.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional non-randomized comparative study, 50 TDT patients were included: 28 were under 18 years (group1) and 22 were above 18 years (group2). They were subjected to hematological examination and ophthalmological examination, including OCT and OCTA. Then, the data were collected and analyzed.
Results:
There was a statistical difference between the age in both groups (p=0.01). The two groups did not differ in sex distribution as well (p=0.085). All hematological parameters showed fewer values in (group 2) with a statistically significant difference in Serum ferritin, showing a marked increasing difference. There was a statistical difference between all Macular parameters and peripapillary quadrantal RNFL thickness of both groups (except for the C/D ratio), with higher values in (group 1). A moderate or strong positive correlation was found between all retinal parameters except for the C/D ratio and Hb level. A moderate or strong positive correlation was found between all retinal parameters except for the C/D ratio and serum ferritin. Moreover, there was a moderate to strong negative correlation between all retinal parameters except for the C/D ratio and frequency of blood transfusion.
Conclusion:
patients above 18 years (group2) are more affected by more RNFL thinning and vascular density changes.
