Ophthalmologic Manifestations and Retinal Findings in Children with Down Syndrome

Purpose. To evaluate ocular findings in children with Down syndrome and to compare with the healthy children group. Methods. The study patients were divided into two groups as the diagnosed Down syndrome group and the control group. The study was designed as a prospective and single-center study in Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology. The study included 93 patients in the age range from 7 to 18 years, who applied to the ophthalmology department of our clinic in the period from July 2017 to June 2018. The study included the patients allocated into the control group and the Down syndrome patients allocated into the patient group, containing 49 and 44 participants, respectively. All patients underwent complete ophthalmologic examination with biomicroscopy. Autorefractometer measurements were performed in all patients, and the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was determined with the use of the Snellen chart. All patients underwent spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) measurements for central foveal retinal (CRT), subfoveal choroidal (CCT), and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thicknesses. Results. The average CRT was 241.2 +/- 25.7 microns in Down syndrome group and 219.4 +/- 21.1 microns in the control group. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in regards to CRT (p<0.001). The average pRNFL values were 123.1 +/- 15.4 microns in the Down syndrome group and 102.2 +/- 8.7 microns in the control group (p<0.001). Conclusions. In the subjects with Down syndrome, the incidence of lens opacities, strabismus, and amblyopia was higher than the control group. CRT and pRNFL were thicker in the Down syndrome group than in control group. This may represent retinal developmental changes in the patients with Down syndrome.