Choroidal thickness measurement in healthy pediatric population using Cirrus HD optical coherence tomography.

PURPOSE To investigate the association between central choroidal thickness (CT), axial length (AL), age, gender, and refractive error in a healthy pediatric population using optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS This institutional study involved 137 healthy children (57 boys, 80 girls) aged between 4 and 18 years. Each child underwent a dilated eye examination, cycloplegic refraction, and AL measurement using a Nidek AL-Scan optical biometer. The central foveal thickness (CFT) and CT were measured using Cirrus high definition (HD)-OCT. The right eye of each subject was selected for analysis. RESULTS The mean age of the children was 10.0 ± 4.7 years (range, 4-18 years). The mean spherical equivalent (SE) was -0.24 ± 1.24 diopters (D) (range, -2.00 D to +2.25 D). The mean AL was 23.1 ± 1.2 mm (range, 20-27 mm). The mean central CT was 388.2 ± 50.0 μm and was not correlated with age, gender, AL, or refractive error. CONCLUSION The data provide a pediatric normative database of CT using enhanced depth imaging OCT. This information may be useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of retino-choroidal diseases in children.