Evaluation of plasma inflammatory markers in patients with nonarteritic retinal artery occlusion

Purpose: To examine the clinical characteristics, comorbid status and laboratory parameters of patients followed up with a diagnosis of retinal artery occlusion (RAO) and to compare blood inflammation parameters with control subjects. Methods: The medical records of 49 patients who were followed up for RAO at Dicle University Medical Faculty between 2017 and 2020 were retrospectively analysed. The occlusion type was divided into two groups, central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) and branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO). The demographic characteristics and clinical and laboratory tests of the groups were compared. The blood WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte and platelet counts of the patients were also recorded, and the neutrophil/lymphocyte, monocyte/lymphocyte and platelet/lymphocyte counts were calculated by simple division and compared with 41 age- and gender-matched controls. Results: There was no difference in age and gender between the CRAO and BRAO groups ( p = 0.220 and p = 0.303 respectively). Heart disease was significantly more common in CRAO patients ( p = 0.004), and hypertension was observed more often, although not significantly ( p = 0.084). WBC, neutrophil and monocyte values were found to be significantly higher in those with RAO than in the controls ( p = 0.005, p < 0.001, p = 0.035 respectively). The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was found to be significantly higher in those with RAO ( p = 0.007). Conclusion: RAO is associated with significant elevation in WBC and NLR. The association of CRAO with cardiovascular disease is prominent.