PERIPHERAL EXUDATIVE HEMORRHAGIC CHORIORETINOPATHY-A NEW ADDITION TO THE SPECTRUM OF PACHYCHOROID DISEASE?

Purpose: To demonstrate choroidal vascular changes and report a novel choroidal thickness contour in eyes with peripheral exudative hemorrhagic chorioretinopathy (PEHCR). Methods: Retrospective, observational, comparative case series. Fourteen eyes of nine patients with PEHCR and 14 eyes of 14 age-matched and sex-matched controls underwent swept-source optical coherence tomography. Choroidal thickness was measured from posterior edge of the retinal pigment epithelium–Bruch membrane to choroidoscleral interface at 11 points 1,000 µm apart. Large choroidal vessel thickness was also measured. Results: In PEHCR group, the choroid was thinnest at 3 mm nasal to fovea (mean 95.3 ± 33.5 µm) and thickest at 7 mm temporal to fovea (mean 272.7 ± 80.2 µm), with gradual increase in choroidal thickness from nasal to temporal periphery. The choroid was thickest subfoveally (259.7 ± 63.8 µm) in the control group. The choroid was significantly thicker in temporal periphery in PEHCR eyes as compared to controls (P = 0.0002). The mean large choroidal vessel thickness was 202.4 ± 50.8 µm in the PEHCR group and 160.6 ± 40.5 µm in the control group (P = 0.0235). Conclusion: Peripheral exudative hemorrhagic chorioretinopathy eyes showed progressively increasing choroidal thickness toward the temporal periphery, compared with age-matched and sex-matched controls. This gave rise to a club-shaped choroidal contour compared with the bowl-shaped contour seen in control eyes. Thicker choroid and pachyvessels favor inclusion of PEHCR in the pachychoroid disease spectrum.