Evaluation of retrobulbar blood flow in patients with age-related cataract; Color Doppler ultrasonographic findings

Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness worldwide, with cataract
surgery being the most common ophthalmic procedure. To our best knowledge, this is the first
case-control study with a large number of participants to evaluate ocular blood flow in patients
with cataracts.
Materials and methods: Color Doppler and duplex sonography of the orbital vessels was
performed in 224 eyes of 112 patients with known bilateral age-related cataracts and in 76 eyes
of 38 healthy age- and sex-matched volunteers.
Results: The mean ± (standard deviation [SD]) of peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the ophthalmic
artery in patients with cataracts (34.59 ± 22.49 cm/second) was significantly different to that
in controls (52.11 ± 14.01 cm/second) (P , 0.001). The mean ± SD PSV of the central retinal
artery in patients with cataracts (15.31 ± 4.93 cm/second) was significantly different to that in
controls (9.61 ± 5.64 cm/second) (P , 0.001).
Conclusion: The mean PSV and resistive index (RI) of the ophthalmic and central retinal
arteries were lower in cataract patients when compared with normal subjects. This suggests that
ocular hypoperfusion and changes in ocular hemodynamic may have a role in the formation of
age-related cataracts