J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2023 Apr;64(4):296-305. 10.3341/jkos.2023.64.4.296.

Long-term Clinical Course and Prognostic Factor of Branch Retinal Artery Occlusion

• Shin D
• Kim Y
• Kim CG
• Kim JW
• Kim JH

• KMID: 2542163
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2023.64.4.296

Abstract

Purpose
To investigate the long-term clinical course and prognostic factors of branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO).
Methods
The medical records of patients diagnosed with BRAO were reviewed retrospectively. Visual acuity (VA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) at diagnosis were compared with those measured at the final visit. Patients with a decimal VA ≥ 0.6 (good prognosis group) were compared with those with a decimal VA ≤ 0.5 (poor prognosis group) at the final visit.
Results
Fifty-five patients were enrolled and the mean follow-up period was 45.8 ± 27.8 months. The mean logarithm of minimum angle of resolution improved from 0.53 ± 0.57 at diagnosis to 0.36 ± 0.61 at the final visit (p = 0.026). The decimal VA was ≤ 0.1 in 13 (23.6%) patients, ≥ 0.2 and ≤ 0.5 in 16 (29.1%) patients, and ≥ 0.6 in 26 (47.3%) patients at diagnosis; the respective values were 9 (16.4%), 8 (14.5%), and 38 (69.1%) at the final visit. The mean CRT significantly decreased from 273.9 ± 34.7 µm at diagnosis to 248.9 ± 27.0 µm at the final visit (p < 0.001). The poor prognosis group (n = 17) was older (p = 0.044) and had a higher incidence of papillomacular bundle involvement (p < 0.001) than the good prognosis group (n = 38).
Conclusions
Patients with BRAO generally showed relatively favorable long-term outcomes. However, the final VA was ≤ 0.1 in 16.4% of them, suggesting the need for further treatment modalities to improve the outcome of patients with a poor prognosis.

Keyword

Branch retinal artery occlusion, Prognosis