title: Choroidal changes in pre-eclampsia during pregnancy and the postpartum period: comparison with healthy pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) in patients with pre-eclampsia using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT).
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 73 pregnant women was studied over 28 weeks of gestation. The sample was divided into two groups: one comprising pre-eclamptic pregnant women (n=32), and the other comprising healthy pregnant women (n=41). The SFCT was determined for all patients using EDI-OCT during pregnancy and at the third month of the postpartum period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SFCTs in pre-eclamptic pregnant women were 351.97 ± 22.44 and 332.28 ± 20.32 µm during the pregnancy and postpartum periods (p<0.001), respectively, whereas these values in healthy pregnant women were 389.73 ± 49.64 and 329.78 ± 22.36 µm (p<0.001), respectively. During pregnancy SFCT in pre-eclamptic pregnant women was significantly thinner than that in healthy pregnant women (p<0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference during the postpartum period (p=0.623).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that SFCT is significantly decreased in pre-eclamptic pregnant women than in healthy pregnant women, despite no statistically significant difference in SFCT existing between the groups during the postpartum period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Necati
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Duru
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Döndü Melek
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Ulusoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayşe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Özköse
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ataş
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arzu Seyhan
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Karatepe
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ataş
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan Basri
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Arifoğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Niğde State Hospital, Niğde, Turkey.
authors.forename: Uğur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D058452:Axial Length, Eye; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002829:Choroid / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D009929:Organ Size; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000502:physiology*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult