Relationship between retinal vein occlusion with carotid artery lesions and hemodynamic changes

Objective To explore the relationship between retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and carotid artery lesion and the hemodynamic changes of ocular and carotid arteries using Colour Doppler Flow Imaging (CDFI). Methods Twenty-two patients (22 eyes) were enrolled with RVO diagnosed by fundus fluoresecine angiography (FFA) who presented to Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital,from October 2015 to December 2016. Age of patients ranged from 25 years to 85 years (56.8±15.4years); 26 patients (26 eyes) were enrolled as controlled group with the age ranged from 30 years to 81 years (56.4±13.1years). CDFI was performed to detect the quantity and appearance of carotid artery plagues, the degree of stenosis and the parameters of internal carotid artery (ICA), ophthalmic artery (OA), central retinal artery (CRA) and central retinal vein (CRV) hemodynamic. Results In all 22 cases diagnosed by FFA, carotid artery lesions were detected in 15 (68.2%, 15/22) patients. Compared with the controlled group, the peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), resistance index (RI) of ICA, OA, CRA, CRV were not statistically significant (P >0.05). Compared with the healthy side, the RI of ICA and EDV of CRA were statistically different (P 0.05) while there were no differences in coronary heartdisease, stroke, smoking, age and gender between RVO group and controlled group (P <0.05). Conclusions There is a relationship between RVO and carotid artery lesions. CDFI could indirectly measure the carotid artery lesions and hemodynamic parameters of the ocular and carotid arteries. However, whether CDFI could be used to investigate the condition and the progress of RVO should be further explored. Key words: Retinal vein occlusion; CDFI; Hemodynamics; Carotid artery; Ocular artery