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Am J Perinatol 2021; 38(05): 482-489
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1698832
Original Article

Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness and Associated Changes of Angiogenic Factors in Women with Severe Preeclampsia

Conrad N. Stern-Ascher
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York
2   Department of Ophthalmology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York
3   Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
,
Victoria S. North
4   Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
,
Aakriti Garg
2   Department of Ophthalmology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York
,
Cande V. Ananth
5   Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey
6   Department of Health Policy and Management, Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York
7   Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey
,
Ronald J. Wapner
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York
,
Srilaxmi Bearelly
2   Department of Ophthalmology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York
› Author Affiliations
Funding Financial support was received from The New York Community Trust—Frederick J and Theresa Dow Wallace Fund, Columbia University (S.B.).
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Abstract

Objective Severe preeclampsia complicates roughly 1% of all pregnancies. One defining feature of severe preeclampsia is new onset visual disturbance. The accessibility of the choroid to high-resolution, noninvasive imaging makes it a reasonable target of investigation for disease prediction, stratification, or monitoring in preeclampsia. This study aimed to compare subfoveal choroidal thickness between women with severe preeclampsia and those with normotensive pregnancies, and to investigate associations between such findings and other indicators of disease severity, including gestational age and serum angiogenic factors.

Study Design We designed a case-control study comprised of 36 women diagnosed with severe preeclampsia (cases) matched to 37 normotensive women (controls) by race/ethnicity and parity, all diagnosed in the postpartum period. All patients underwent enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and serum analysis.

Results Cases showed no difference in subfoveal choroidal thickness compared with controls (p = 0.65). Amongst cases, subfoveal choroidal thickness and gestational age at delivery were inversely related (r = 0.86, p < .001). There was a positive association of placental growth factor with subfoveal choroidal thickness amongst cases (r = 0.54, p = 0.002).

Conclusion This study suggests a relationship between the degree of disease severity and the magnitude of choroidal thickening. We also show an association between this index and placental growth factor level in the postpartum period.

Keywords

EDI SD-OCT - placental growth factor - preeclampsia with severe features - soluble endoglin - soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase - subfoveal choroidal thickness

Condensation

Subfoveal choroidal thickness is increased in patients with preeclampsia diagnosed at earlier GAs as compared with later GAs and those patients without hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.




Publication History

Received: 19 April 2019

Accepted: 07 September 2019

Article published online:
04 November 2019

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