Choroidal vascular sublayers in Chinese pre-eclampsia and healthy pregnancy

Abstract Background: Using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to investigate choroidal vascular sublayers in Chinese pre-eclampsia (PE) and healthy pregnancy. Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study, including 20 normal subjects, 23 healthy pregnancy and 37 patients with PE. Using SD-OCT, subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT)， 750μm nasal and temporal to the fovea, 1500μm nasal and temporal to the fovea（T1500, T750, SFCT, N750, N1500）and sublayers (choriocapillaris/Sattler layer and Haller layer) were measured. Results: There was no significant difference in mean age, spherical equivalent among the three groups (P=0.532). Additionally, no significant difference in the gestational age between the healthy pregnancy and PE group was found (P=0.783). Significant differences were seen in large choroid vessel thickness(LCVT), medium choroidal vessel thickness (MCVT) and choroidal thickness (CT) at 5 locations among three groups (P<0.05). There was significant increase in healthy pregnancy group than in normal subjects at N1500-CT, N750-CT, SFCT, T750-CT and MCVT (P<0.05), while no significant difference was observed at T1500CT and LCVT (P>0.05). Meanwhile, significant increase was detected in PE group than in healthy pregnancy group at N1500-CT, N750-CT, SFCT, T750-CT, T1500CT and LCVT (P<0.05), whereas no significant difference was observed at MCVT(P=0.709). Conclusion: Our study revealed the variation of choroidal vascular sublayers during pregnancy and PE. Key words: Pre-eclampsia, subfoveal choroidal thickness, choroidal sublayers, optical coherence tomography