The assessment of choroidal thickness with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography during Valsalva maneuver.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of Valsalva maneuver (VM) on choroidal thickness.


METHODS
All the volunteers underwent a detailed opthalmic examination. Third-generation Spectralis OCT device (software version 5.6.3.0; Spectralis OCT, Heidelberg Engineering, Dossenheim, Germany) was used for assessment. Subfoveal and perifoveal CT of all volunteers were measured by using EDI-OCT technology. Perifoveal CT was measured 1500 µm nasally and 1500 µm temporally apart from the foveal center. The measurements were repeated while volunteers were performing VM.


RESULTS
Sixty-four eyes of 32 healthy volunteers were assessed. The volunteers were aged 29-50. The mean age was 32.8 ± 6.6 years. Choroidal thickness measurements differed with statistical significance between resting position and VMin all regions (p < 0.001). While mean subfoveal CT was 350.64 ± 87.73 µm during resting position, it was 369.95 ± 90.12 µm during VM (p < 0.001). While mean nasal CT was 292.14 ± 81.67 µm during resting position, it was 305.46 ± 85.80 µm during VM (p < 0.001). While mean temporal CT was 325.93 ± 80.91 µm during resting position, it was 343.21 ± 81.53 µm during VM (p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
We found statistically significant increase in choroidal thickness during the VM in healthy volunteers. This result might be important for future studies researching autoregulation of choroidal and retinal blood flow in physiologic and pathologic conditions. Also, our study is noteworthy to stand out the errors in EDI-OCT measurements caused by unintentional breath holding of patients.
Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey. ayse.ozkose@hotmail.com.
AyşeÖzköse
A
Çiçek
Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
Necati
N
Duru
Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
Zeynep
Z
Duru
Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
Orhan
O
Altunel
Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
Arzu Seyhan Karatepe
ASK
Haşhaş
Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
Hasan Basri
HB
Arifoğlu
Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
Bedirhan
B
Alabay
Department of Ophthalmology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
Mustafa
M
Ataş
D000328:Adult; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*; D014636:Valsalva Maneuver / Q000502:physiology*
Autoregulation; Choroidal thickness; EDI-OCT; Normotensive glaucoma; Valsalva maneuver