Study of Role of Optical Coherence Tomography in the Interpretation of Common Macular Disorders at a Tertiary Eye Care Centre in Rural Maharashtra

BACKGROUND Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a commonly used non invasive imaging instrument useful for the diagnosis and follow up of macular disorders, but it has its own share of drawbacks in the presence of media opacities like corneal oedema, dense cataract and vitreous haemorrhage. We wanted to study and interpret the various patterns of common macular diseases on optical coherence tomography. METHODS 100 patients having macular diseases with no other ocular pathology were selected by simple random sampling. The patients were studied and followed up from day 1 of OPD during the period from January 2019 to December 2019 in rural hospital at Latur. All patients suspected of any macular disorder by slit lamp bio-microscopy with 78D or 90D examination were subjected to OCT evaluation. RESULTS On observation, out of 100 cases of macular pathology, 44 % (44 patients) with age related macular degeneration(ARMD), diabetic macular oedema ( DME) 36 % (36 patients), central serous retinopathy (CSR) 10 % (10 patients), myopic maculopathy (MM) 7 % (7 patients), macular hole (MH) 3 % (3 patients) were found in our study. In ARMD patients our OCT findings were hard drusens in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), detachment of neurosensory retina and retinal pigment epithelium whereas in patients of DME our OCT findings were cyst like hyporeflective spaces within the retina, with retinal thinning and loss of foveal depression. In patients of CSR our findings were separation of sensory retina from RP, in myopic maculopathy our OCT findings were presence of macular retinoschisis and in patients of MH our findings were showing attachment of the posterior hyaloids to the fovea, separation of a small portion of the sensory retina from RPE in the foveolar region and intraretinal cystic changes. CONCLUSIONS OCT plays a crucial role when added along with the clinical examination in the diagnosis and interpretation of common macular disorders. KEYWORDS Optical Coherence Tomography, Age Related Macular Degeneration, Macular Hole, Myopic Maculopathy