To evaluate the change of choroidal thickness and intraocular pressure (IOP) as a result of hemodialysis with chronic renal failure patients. In addition, the correlation between the change of choroidal thickness and IOP were evaluated.

A total of 48 eyes of 48 chronic renal failure patients undergoing hemodialysis were included in the present study. IOP, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), serum osmolality, central corneal thickness (CCT), and choroidal thickness were measured before and after hemodialysis. Choroidal thickness was measured using spectral domain ocular coherence tomography (SD-OCT).

After hemodialysis, IOP significantly decreased from 14.9 ± 2.3 mm Hg to 14.3 ± 2.1 mm Hg ( p < 0.001) and choroidal thickness significantly decreased from 352.2 ± 31.6 µm to 306.6 ± 29.0 µm ( p < 0.001). The other factors that significantly decreased after hemodialysis included serum osmolality ( p < 0.001) and blood pressure ( p < 0.001) except CCT ( p = 0.285). There was a positive correlation between changes in IOP and choroidal thickness after hemodialysis (r = 0.319, p = 0.027).

Decreased choroidal volume and thickness due to fluid loss may be involved in the mechanism of decreased IOP during hemodialysis.