Abstract:Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the retinal micro-vascular changes in acute stroke patients and their correlation with severity of stroke.
Methods: In this prospective study 50 patients with acute stroke were enrolled. Stroke was diagnosed by neurologist based on clinical features, physical signs and radiological imaging. Grading of stroke was done by using ICH grading score and NIHSS grading. Retinal photographs of 4 fields (optic disc, macula, superior arcade, and inferior arcade) of each eye were captured by using a digital retinal funds camera (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG FF 450 plus) and were assessed for following micro-vascular changes: Retinal vascular tortuosity, Retinal vascular caliber, Focal arteriolar narrowing, AV nicking, soft exudates and hard exudates.
Results: In this study, funds findings were present in 48 (96%) patients. 92.31% patients of Ischemic stroke, 100% patients of Hemorrhagic stroke and lacunar stroke had generalized arteriolar narrowing. About 64.29% patients of Hemorrhagic stroke, 61.54% ischemic stroke patients and 100% lacunar stroke patients had Focal arteriolar narrowing. About 50% Hemorrhagic stroke patients, 34.62% Ischemic stroke patients and 100% lacunar stroke patients had AV nicking. About 1% Ischemic stroke patients, 100% lacunar stroke patients had hard and soft exudates. Mean AV ratio in Hemorrhagic, Ischemic and Lacunar stroke was 0.564 mm, 0.592 mm and 0.400 mm respectively.
Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that, there is a strong association between retinal micro-vascular changes and cerebral microvasculopathy leading to stroke. We also found significant correlations between retinal micro-vascular changes and severity of the stroke.
