Retinal and Choroidal Thickness Changes in Populations with Helicobacter pylori Infection by Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography

Summary

Here, we compared macular retinal and choroidal thickness in populations with and without Helicobacter pylori infection using a swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) device, which is one of the recent milestones in the development of retinal and choroidal visualization.

Abstract

Around half of the world's population is infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which is closely related to several ocular diseases. The study aims to evaluate the retinal and choroidal thickness changes in subjects with H. pylori infection by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). The ophthalmic examination and ¹³C-urea breath test (¹³C-UBT) were performed on all subjects participating in the cross-sectional study. The participants were divided into H. pylori (+) and H. pylori (−) groups depending on the ¹³C-UBT results. This study covered 2574 right eyes from 2574 subjects with H. pylori infection and 2574 right eyes from 2574 age- and sex-matched individuals without H. pylori infection. Out of the nine sectors of the early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) grid, the maximum retinal thickness was in the inner superior sector, while the minimum was in the center sector. The maximum choroidal thickness was in the inner superior sector, while the minimum was in the outer nasal sector. The choroid of each area of the ETDRS subfield in the H. pylori (+) group was significantly thicker than that in the H. pylori (−) group, but retinal thickness did not show any difference between the two groups. Increased choroidal thickness may be an early indicator of H. pylori-associated retinal or choroidal diseases.

Introduction

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative bacterium that settles on the gastric epithelium surface and infects approximately 50% of the world's population^1,2. The incidence of H. pylori infection varies from region to region, and infections are more common in societies with low socioeconomic status³. H. pylori infections are typically acquired during childhood, and a significant proportion of individuals infected with H. pylori do not exhibit any symptoms⁴. If left untreated, H. pylori can coloniz....

Protocol

This cross-sectional study was conducted at Huashan Hospital of Fudan University between September 2018 and April 2019. It was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Huashan Hospital, affiliated with Fudan University (No. KY2016-274). Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to the examinations.

1. Inclusion criteria

1. Collect all subjects' general conditions, including age, sex, and a history of systemic diseases (thyroid diseases, diabet.......

Discussion

H. pylori infection has been related to many extra gastric disorders, such as neurological, dermatological, cardiovascular, and ocular diseases³³. However, the pathogenesis of H. pylori-associated ocular diseases remains elusive. We used SS-OCT to measure macular retinal and choroidal thickness in subjects with and without H. pylori infection. The results showed that the choroidal thickness was significantly increased in subjects with H. pylori infection when co.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
13C-urea breath test detector	Richen Force, Beijing, China	V505721
13C-urea breath test kit	Richen Force, Beijing, China	H20061169
Ophthalmoscope	66 Vision-Tech, Suzhou, China	V259204
Slit-lamp microscope	Topcon, Tokyo, Japan	6822
SPSS software	IBM, Chicago, USA	ECS000143
Swept-source optical coherence tomography	Topcon, Tokyo, Japan	185261
Visual chart	Yuejin, Shanghai, China	H24104