Relationship between ocular and computed tomography findings in patients with spina bifida

Abstract

Objectives: Spina bifida is one of the most common congenital diseases in Turkey and around the world.Despite the developing diagnostic and therapeutic methods, abnormal ocular characteristicsin spina bifidapatients are still quite common. We investigated the ocular characteristics of spina bifida patients with andwithout hydrocephalus.Methods: We included 37 patients who were previously referred to the Istanbul Bilim University, Departmentof Ophthalmology and already had computed tomography (CT) scans. We retrospectively investigated thepatients’ ophthalmologic findings (refractive errors, strabismus, and optic disc characteristics) and used theirrecent CT images to measure the Evans ratios (ERs), which indirectly reflect the grade of hydrocephalus. Thepatients were divided into three groups according to their ERs (ER ? 0.3, 0.3-0.5, and ? 0.5), and then theocular characteristics of these groups were compared. In addition, the patients were divided into three groupsaccording to their ages (? 1 year, 1-3 years, and ? 3 years), and the ERs and rates of refraction defects in thesegroups were compared.Results: There was no relationship between specific ocular characteristics and ER or between age and ER.However, refraction errors were observed more frequently as patient age increased.Conclusions: The degree of hydrocephalus does not affect the ocular characteristics of patients with spinabifida, but emmetropization may be deteriorated in these patients.