Evaluation of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis

Purpose To evaluate the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (pRNFL) in patients with intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS). Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in a general hospital. The intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis was evaluated by digital subtraction angiography (DSA), computed tomography angiography (CTA) or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). High-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT) was used to evaluate the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness. Results A total of 102 patients, including 59(57.8%) patients with ICAS and 43(42.2%) patients without ICAS, were finally analysed in the study. The peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (pRNFL) was reduced significantly in the average, the superior and the inferior quadrants of the ipsilateral eyes and in the superior quadrant of the contralateral eyes in patients with ICAS compared with patients without ICAS. After multivariate analysis, only the superior pRNFL thickness in the ipsilateral eyes was significantly associated with ICAS (OR,0.968; 95% CI,0.946-0.991; p = 0.006). The area under receiver operator curve was 0.679 (95% CI,0.576-0.782) for it to identify the presence of ICAS. The cut-off value of the superior pRNFL was 109.5 [mu]m, and the sensitivity and specificity were 50.8% and 83.7%, respectively. Conclusion The superior pRNFL in the ipsilateral eye was significantly associated with ICAS in this study. Larger studies are needed to explore the relation between pRNFL and ICAS further. Keywords: Stroke, Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis, Retinal nerve fiber layer