Choroidal thickness in eyes with idiopathic epiretinal membrane

Abstract Purpose To compare the choroidal thickness in the macular area in eyes with an idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) with that of unaffected fellow eyes and eyes of healthy controls. Methods Enhanced depth imaging (EDI) was obtained by spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT) (Spectralis, Heidelberg‐Engineering,Germany) in 66 eyes of 50 patients (73.91 ± 11.1 years) with ERM and 96 eyes of 96 healthy controls (74.04 ± 8.5 years). Eyes were divided into 3 groups: 66 eyes in group A (affected eyes with ERM), 36 eyes in group B (unaffected fellow eyes), and 96 eyes in group C (right eyes of age‐matched controls). Choroidal thickness was measured from the posterior edge of the retinal pigment epithelium to the choroid‐scleral junction in the subfoveal area (SCT) and 1 mm away from the fovea in the nasal (NCT) and temporal (TCT) regions. Statistical analysis was conducted to compare mean choroidal thicknesses. Results In the ERM group the mean choroidal thicknesses were 241.1± 98.1 µm at the fovea (SCT), 225.7 ± 88.7 µm nasally (NCT), and 232.6 ± 85.6 µm temporally (TCT). In the unafected fellow eyes these measurements were 216.4 ± 72 µm, 213.3± 73.7 µm, and 214.8 ± 71 µm, respectively. Finally, the control group showed the following values: 234.9 ± 100.4 µm, 224.7± 96.4 µm, and 233.0 ± 95.5 µm, respectively. Choroidal thickness did not show any statistically significant differences among the three groups of eyes when age was counted as a confounding variable (p>0.05, ANOVA test). Conclusion No relationship between the presence of an ERM and changes in choroidal thickness was found. Epiretinal membrane is a disease caused by changes in the vitreous humor. Choroid does not seem to participate in the pathogenesis of this disorder.