Subclinical posterior segment changes in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection without ocular involvement

Session Details

Session Title: Free Paper Session 21: Imaging III

Session Date/Time: Sunday 10/09/2017 | 08:00-09:30

Paper Time: 08:12

Venue: Room 113

First Author: : E.Cetin TURKEY

Co Author(s): :    S. Sayin Kutlu   O. Parca   M. Kutlu   G. Pekel                    

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To assess peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and macular segmentation in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection without ocular involvement.

Setting:

Tertiary referral hospital

Methods:

The study included prospective analysis of 23 eyes of 23 HIV patients without ocular involvement and 21 eyes of 21 age and gender matched healthy subjects. The patients with best corrected visual acuity lower than 20/20 were excluded. Peripapillary RNFL thickness measurement and macular segmentation analysis were performed by spectral-OCT. The thicknesses of RNFL, ganglion cells, inner plexiform, inner nuclear, outer plexiform, outer nuclear and photoreceptor layers and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in central, superior, nasal, inferior and temporal sectors were documented in the study and the control groups.

Results:

The mean duration of disease after diagnosis was 26 ±31 months and the mean CD4 T lymphocyte was 480 ±233cells/mm3 in the study group. Ganglion cell layer in superior, inferior and temporal sectors; RPE in central, superior, nasal, inferior and temporal sectors; photoreceptor layer in superior, nasal, inferior and temporal sectors were significantly thinner in the study group than that in the control group (p=0.026, p=0.043, p=0.041, p=0.012, p=0.007, p=0.001, p=0.020, p<0.001, p=0.003, p=0.018, p=0.003 and p=0.003 respectively, Mann-Whitney U test).

Conclusions:

There was significant sectoral thinning in ganglion cell layer, RPE and photoreceptor layer in HIV patients without ocular involvement. This finding might be an indicator of subclinical neurodegeneration in HIV patients.