OCT Evaluation of Retinal Parameters in Pediatric Gastritis Patients with Helicobacter Pylori

Mehmet Fatih Kocamaz; Gulseren Sahin; Ferda Ozbay Hosnut; Nesibe Gokce Kocamaz; Pinar Altiaylik Ozer; Ahmet Sengun

doi:10.14744/bej.2021.42104

OCT Evaluation of Retinal Parameters in Pediatric Gastritis Patients with Helicobacter Pylori

Beyoglu Eye J. 2021 Dec 17;6(4):290-297. doi: 10.14744/bej.2021.42104. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Mehmet Fatih Kocamaz¹, Gulseren Sahin², Ferda Ozbay Hosnut², Nesibe Gokce Kocamaz³, Pinar Altiaylik Ozer⁴, Ahmet Sengun⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Bursa City Hospital, Bursa, Turkey.
² Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Child Health and Diseases Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
³ Department of Child Health and Diseases, Gemlik State Hospital, Bursa, Turkey.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Ufuk University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection on choroidal thickness (CT), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and ganglion cell (GCL+IPL) complex thickness in childhood cases of gastritis.

Methods: A total of 104 eyes of 52 children were included in the study. Two groups were created: 54 eyes of 27 H. pylori gastritis cases (Group 1) and 50 eyes of 25 gastritis without H. pylori cases (Group 2), as confirmed by an endoscopic biopsy. The mean subfoveal, submacular, and peripapillary CT, RNFL thickness, and GCL+IPL complex thickness was measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography.

Results: The mean subfoveal CT values were significantly higher in Group 1 compared with Group 2 (p=0.042). The mean submacular CT and peripapillary CT measurements of the eyes in Group 1 was greater than that of Group 2, but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). There was also no statistically significant difference between the GCL+IPL complex or RNFL thickness values of the groups (p>0.05).

Conclusion: H. pylori is a common gastrointestinal infectious agent with asymptomatic carriers in the population. The role of this agent in ocular pathologies in adult patients has been the subject of many recent studies, but secondary ocular findings in patients with H. pylori gastritis in childhood have not yet been investigated. The results of this study showed that the subfoveal CT value was significantly greater in children with H. pylori gastritis.

Keywords: Choroidal thickness; Helicobacter pylori; ganglion cell layer complex thickness; gastritis; optical coherence tomography; retinal nerve fiber layer thickness.