Evaluation of Choroidal Thickness, Intraocular Pressure, and Serum Osmolality After the Water Drinking Test in Eyes With Primary Angle Closure.

Purpose: We evaluated changes in choroidal thickness (ChT), IOP, ocular biometry, and serum osmolality after the water drinking test (WDT) in subjects with previous acute primary angle closure (APAC) and primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG).

Methods: We evaluated 38 subjects, including 21 with APAC and 17 with PACG. Each subject underwent IOP measurement, A-scan biometry, spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SDOCT), anterior segment-optical coherence tomography (ASOCT), and osmolality measurements at baseline, 30, and 60 minutes after consuming at least 10 mL/kg of water. The ChT at the macula was measured from SDOCT images using the 7-line scan protocol. The fellow-eyes of APAC (FE-APAC) were compared to eyes with PACG.

Results: The mean age ± SD of the study subjects was 62.8 ± 8.6 years and 21 (55.3%) were females. At baseline, serum osmolality was significantly lower (P < 0.001) in the FE-APAC group, whereas ChT was similar in both groups (P = 0.56). At 30 minutes after WDT, both groups demonstrated a significant increase in IOP (FE-APAC, 3.0 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.52, 4.48] mm Hg; PACG, 5.06 [95% CI, 3.68, 6.26] mm Hg; P < 0.001 for both) and decrease in serum osmolality (P < 0.001 for both), but no significant change in ChT. The magnitude of change in IOP was significantly greater in PACG eyes (P = 0.04). After multivariate analysis, a lower mean baseline serum osmolality (β = -0.44, P = 0.003) was associated with a greater change in ChT at 30 minutes after WDT.

Conclusions: The increase in IOP after WDT was higher in PACG eyes compared to FE-APAC; however, the latter had lower serum osmolality at baseline. Change in mean ChT following WDT was associated with a lower baseline serum osmolality.