Evaluation of Macular Thickness and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer by Optical Coherence Tomography in Cases with Strabismic and Anisometropic Amblyopia

Pur po se: To measure the macular and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thicknesses using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in\udamblyopic eyes of unilateral strabismic and anisometropic patients and to compare the results with those of their normal eyes and with\uda control group.\udMa te ri al and Met hod: 30 strabismic and 30 anisometropic amblyopic patients who were followed by Atatürk Training and\udResearch Hospital Strabismus section between September 2009 and February 2010 and 30 healthy children who were examined in the\udout-patient clinic were included in the study. The amblyopic eyes of the amblyopic patients were compared with their normal eyes andwith the right eyes of the healthy patients. After detailed ophthalmologic examination, macular thickness, central foveal, parafoveal and perifoveal\udvolumes and RNFL thickness of the cases were measured with OCT and compared statistically. A p-value of less than 0.05 was accepted as statistically\udsignificant.\udRe sults: Foveal volume of the amblyopic eyes of strabismic and anisometropic amblyopic cases (0.20mm3; 0.21mm3, respectively) was statistically\udhigher than in the control group (0.19 mm3) (p=0.002).As the level of amblyopia increased, there was an increase in foveal volume. Central foveal\udthickness (CFT) of the amblyopic eyes of strabismic and amblyopic patients (258 μm and 260 μm, respectively) was higher than in the control group\ud(244 μm), which was statistically significant difference (p=0.010). Similarly, as the level of amblyopia increased, there was an increase in CFT. When\udstrabismic and amblyopic cases were compared, no statistical difference was observed between foveal volumes (central-parafoveal-perifoveal) and CFT\udresults (p>0.05). There was no difference in RNFL thickness of strabismic, anisometropic and control cases (p>0.05). In addition, no significant\uddifference was detected between the normal eyes of the amblyopic patients and the control group (p>0.05).\udDis cus si on: Although the primary site of deficit is in the visual cortex in amblyopia, secondary changes occur in the retina as well. While RNFL\udthickness does not differ from that in normal eyes, the thickness and volume of the fovea of amblyopic eyes are higher than in normal individuals. As a\udresult, amblyopia not only affects the visual cortex, but gives rise to secondary changes at retinal level. (Turk J Ophthalmol 2011; 41: 318-24