This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Arséne, S Articles by Tranquart, F Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Arséne, S Articles by Tranquart, F

Follow up by colour Doppler imaging of 102 patients with retinal vein occlusion over 1 year

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Bretonneau, 37044 Tours Cedex 1, France
² Department of Clinical Research, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Bretonneau, 37044 Tours Cedex 1, France
³ Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Bretonneau, 37044 Tours Cedex 1, France

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Sophie Arséne, MD, Department of Ophthalmology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Bretonneau, 2 Boulevard Tonnellé, 37044 Tours Cedex 1, France

ABSTRACT
Background/aim: Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is one of the most frequent ocular vascular diseases and leads to severe vision impairment. Colour Doppler imaging (CDI) is the first method which allows distinct evaluation of arterial and venous velocities in RVO. CDI is valuable for diagnosis of RVO and shows the effects of isovolaemic haemodilution. Patients with RVO were monitored by CDI for 1 year in order to clarify venous and arterial involvement in the pathogenesis of this disease.

Methods: Patients with RVO were monitored prospectively for 1 year with clinical examinations, fluorescein angiography, and CDI every 3 months. 102 adults referred for RVO for less than 2 months were enrolled. Unaffected eyes were used as control. The maximum systolic and diastolic flow velocities and the resistance index (RI) were measured in the central retinal artery (CRA) and the maximum and minimum blood flow velocities in the central retinal vein (CRV).

Results: During the year of observation, branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), ischaemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), and non-ischaemic CRVO had a distinct pattern of venous velocity changes. BRVO had a similar profile to that observed in controls. Venous velocities were continuously lower in central forms, with the lowest values in ischaemic occlusion. In contrast, a brief decrease in arterial diastolic velocity was observed in ischaemic CRVO at presentation, correlated with arteriovenous passage time on fluorescein angiography, but with rapid normalisation.

Conclusions: CDI findings were correlated with the type of RVO at all times during follow up. CDI showed persistent impairment of central venous velocity in CRVO whereas there was a fast initial values recovery of the arterial velocity. These results using CDI show strong evidence of a primary venous mechanism in RVO.

Keywords: retinal vein occlusion; colour Doppler imaging; haemodynamic evolution; isovolaemic haemodilution

Abbreviations: AVT, arteriovenous passage time; BRVO, branch retinal vein occlusion; CRA, central retinal artery; CRV, central retinal vein; CRVO, central retinal vein occlusion; EDV, end diastolic velocity; ICRVO, ischaemic central retinal vein occlusion; NICRVO, non-ischaemic central retinal vein occlusion; PSV, peak systolic velocity; RI, resistance index; RVO, retinal vein occlusion