CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score in Predicting Visual Acuity Outcomes Following Retinal Vein Occlusion

Purpose: To find whether the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score, a system for stratifying stroke risk among patients with atrial fibrillation, correlates with visual acuity prognosis following retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Participants and Methods: This retrospective study included 83 eyes of 83 patients with a diagnosis of branch or central RVO between June 2017 and August 2022 with at least 12 months of follow-up in Assuta Ashdod Medical Center, Ashdod, Israel. The patients were divided into three groups, with CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores of 0-2 (N = 31), 3-5 (N = 45), or 6-9 (N = 7). The change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between the groups was examined about 1 year after the presentation of RVO. Results: The patient mean age was 67.9 ± 13.8 years; 38.6% were women. The mean visual acuity was 0.83 ± 0.67 LogMAR units at the first admission and 0.78 ± 0.80 LogMAR units at the last visit. Patients with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score from 6 to 9 had a significantly poorer BCVA prognosis at 1-year (+0.60 ± 0.94 [-0.27, 1.47] LogMAR units) compared to groups with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score from 3 to 5 (-0.01 ± 0.65 [-0.20, 0.19] LogMAR units) and a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score from 0 to 2 (-0.12 ± 0.59 [-0.33, 0.10] LogMAR units) (p = 0.038). Conclusions: Following RVO, patients with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of 6 or higher had a worse prognosis in their visual acuity than patients with a lower score.