Morphometric parameters of retinal macular zone in reconvalescents of acute radiation sickness (in remote period)

Abstract

Objective: evaluate the retinal morphometric parameters of the reconvalescents in remote period after acute radiation sickness. Materials and methods. A complete ophthalmologic examination was carried out on 7 reconvalescents of acute radiation sickness. The examined are divided into two subgroups: 1) patients with macular degeneration of the retina (8 eyes); 2) patients without clinical signs of macular pathology (6 eyes). Parameters of the retina in the central retina zone studied using the method of optical coherence tomography. To evaluate the results of surveys used statistical methods: average values of quantitative indicators calculation, estimation of probability difference by Student’s method. Results. Optical coherence tomography revealed a statistically significant increase of the thickness of the retina in the fovea in all reconvalescents of acute radiation sickness. Conclusions. It was shown that the thickness of the retina in the fovea and paramacular zone in persons who suffered acute radiation sickness is significantly higher than in the control. These changes observed in all reconvaliscents ARS - both in person with sings of macular degeneration, and in those whose clinical manifestations were not detected. The presence of a correlation between the volume of the retina in the macular zone and the documented radiation dose of the study group emphasizes the perspectives of next OCT examination of the retina of reconvalescents of ARS to study the mechanism of retina’s damage in this category of victims of the Chornobyl accident.