A prospective observational study to analyse the relationship between fundus changes in pregnancy induced hypertension with visual impairment and its reversibility

Background: Irreversible visual impairment and morbidity are associated with pregnancy induced hypertension. It causes pathological changes in vascularity of placenta, kidney and brain along with two major pathological types of changes in fundus namely arteriolar vasospasm and permeability changes in vascular endothelium. The aim of our study was to analyse the relationship between fundus changes in pregnancy induced hypertension with visual impairment and its reversibility.Methods: A prospective observational study done on pregnant women with any grade of pregnancy induced hypertension with recent visual impairment from 24 completed weeks of pregnancy.Results: Out of 75 patients with PIH, all the patients had varying degree of fundus changes in one or both eyes. In 150 eyes of the 75 patients, 86 (57.30%) eyes had isolated arteriolar vasospasm, 14 (9.33%) had grade III hypertensive retinopathy, 4 (2.66%) had grade IV hypertensive retinopathy, 30 (20%) had macular oedema, 4 (2.66%) had central serous chorioretinopathy, 2 (1.33%) had vascular occlusion, 2 (2.66%) eyes had normal fundus with cortical blindness, 2 (2.66%) had exudative retinal detachment, 6 (4%) eyes had normal fundus with changes in the other eye.Conclusions: Out of 75 patients, 7 (9.3%) patients had irreversible loss of vision, 3 (42.85%) due to arteriolar vasospasm, and 4 (57.15%) due to choroidal ischemia. Among the 4 patients with choroidal ischemia, 3 (75%) were in the group of eclampsia and 1 (25%) in gestational hypertension