Comparative Analysis of Macular Choroidal Thickness in Pseudoexfoliative Glaucoma, Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma, and Healthy Controls

Purpose To compare macular choroidal thickness (CT) among eyes with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEG), primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and healthy control eyes. Methods The study compared macular CT among 60 eyes in each of PEG (Group A), POAG (Group B) and age and sex matched healthy controls (Group C). Key inclusion criteria were age ≥ 18 years, BCVA ≥ 20/40 and IOP ≥ 21 mmHg. Exclusion criteria were axial length ≥ 25 mm, neurological disorders, retinal or choroidal diseases. Enhanced-depth spectral domain optical coherence tomography (EDI- SD OCT) was used to measure the choroidal thicknesses across all zones of Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid of all subjects. Results The average macular CT showed a significant decrease in PEG compared to controls (p = 0.02). CT was also thinner in PEG in the nasal inner (p = 0.03), superior inner (p = 0.01), inferior inner (p = 0.01), superior outer (p = 0.01), and temporal outer (p = 0.03) subfields of the macula compared to controls. In POAG, thinner choroid was observed in the central (p = 0.02), nasal inner (p = 0.02), and superior inner (p = 0.02) subfields compared to controls. When comparing PEG to POAG, thinner choroid was seen in the inferior inner subfield of the macula in PEG (p = 0.01). Conclusion The significant thinning observed in various macular subfields of PEG and POAG groups, underscores the importance of evaluating CT alterations in glaucoma.