Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential changes in choroidal vasculature in nodulocystic acne patients under isotretinoin treatment by using choroidal thickness (CT), choroidal vascularity index (CVI), and choriocapillaris (CC) flow area.

Materials and methods

This prospective study included nodulocystic acne patients under isotretinoin treatment and healthy controls. All patients underwent enhanced depth imaging–optical coherence tomography (EDI–OCT) imaging to assess the subfoveal CT and submacular CVI, and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging to evaluate the CC flow area.

Results

A total of 25 patients with acne and 23 controls were included. The mean duration of the treatment was 7.20 ± 0.79 months and the mean daily isotretinoin dose was 38.7 ± 2.8 mg in the acne group. The mean CT and CVI values were significantly higher in the acne group compared to the control group (p = 0.005 and p = 0.027, respectively). The cumulative isotretinoin dose was positively correlated with subfoveal CT and submacular CVI (r = 0.434, p = 0.015 and r = 0.385, p = 0.033, respectively). Regarding the CC flow area, the values for area with a radius of 1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm were lower in the acne group than in the control group; however, the difference was not significant (p > 0.05, all values).

Conclusion

After a mean 7-month course of isotretinoin treatment, subfoveal CT and submacular CVI values were significantly higher in the nodulocyctic acne patients. Whether the choroidal changes are permanent or not should be investigated in future studies.

中文翻译：

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异维A酸治疗痤疮患者脉络膜血管变化

摘要

目的

本研究的目的是通过使用脉络膜厚度 (CT)、脉络膜血管指数 (CVI) 和脉络膜毛细血管 (CC) 流动面积来评估异维A酸治疗下结节囊性痤疮患者脉络膜血管系统的潜在变化。

材料和方法

这项前瞻性研究包括接受异维A酸治疗的结节囊肿性痤疮患者和健康对照。所有患者都接受了增强深度成像-光学相干断层扫描 (EDI-OCT) 成像以评估中央凹下 CT 和黄斑下 CVI，以及光学相干断层扫描血管造影 (OCTA) 成像以评估 CC 流动区域。

结果

共包括 25 名痤疮患者和 23 名对照者。痤疮组的平均治疗持续时间为 7.20 ± 0.79 个月，平均每日异维A酸剂量为 38.7 ± 2.8 mg。与对照组相比，痤疮组的平均 CT 和 CVI 值显着更高（分别为p  = 0.005 和p  = 0.027）。累积异维A酸剂量与中心凹下 CT 和黄斑下 CVI 呈正相关（分别为r  = 0.434，p  = 0.015 和r  = 0.385，p  = 0.033）。CC流动面积方面，痤疮组半径为1mm、2mm和3mm的面积值低于对照组；然而，差异并不显着（p  > 0.05，所有值）。

结论

在平均 7 个月的异维A酸治疗疗程后，结节性痤疮患者的中央凹下 CT 和黄斑下 CVI 值显着升高。脉络膜变化是否是永久性的，应在未来的研究中进行调查。