THE RETINAL VENOUS PULSE - ITS RELATION TO OPTIC DISC CHARACTERISTICSAND CHOROIDAL PULSE

Purpose: The presence or absence of the spontaneous retinal venous pul se is an important clinical sign, especially when one is evaluating a patient who may have increased intracranial pressure. The purpose of t his study is to evaluate a large group of healthy patients, correlatin g optic disc characteristics, choroidal pulse, and brachial pulse pres sure with the presence and intensity of the spontaneous retinal venous pulse. Methods: Ninety-seven patients were studied correlating these parameters with their fundus photographs. Ocular pneumotonometry as a measure of the choroldal pulse and the brachial pulse pressure were co rrelated with the optic disc characteristics and the intensity of the retinal venous pulse statistically. Results: The results showed a high ly significant correlation with these parameters. The greater the puls e amplitude-especially the choroidal pulse the more likely the spontan eous retinal venous pulse would be present. More importantly, the anat omic variable of optic disc cup and vascular configuration had the gre atest influence on whether the spontaneous retinal venous pulse is pre sent or absent. Conclusion: The authors conclude that unless the clini cian is aware of the importance of optic nerve characteristics and pul se amplitude in the choroid (indirectly measured in a normal clinical setting by the brachial pulse) the significance of the spontaneous ret inal venous pulse cannot be properly determined.