Choroidal Thickness in Eyes with Fuchs Uveitis Syndrome

This study measured the macular thickness, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness in eyes with Fuchs uveitis syndrome (FUS).

In total, 25 patients with unilateral FUS were enrolled. The diagnosis of FUS was based on the presence of several of the following clinical features: absence of acute symptoms and ciliary injection; small to medium-sized and stellate keratic precipitates (KP) diffusely scattered on the entire corneal endothelium; chronic low-grade anterior chamber inflammation; iris stromal atrophy with or without heterochromia; lack of posterior synechiae; iris nodules; and vitreous cells and debris. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT; RTVue-100 OCT) was used to obtain the measurements. The SFCT, RNFL thickness, macular retinal thickness, and GCC thickness of the eyes with FUS were measured and compared with those of the uninvolved fellow eyes. A paired samples t-test was used for statistical analyses. A value of p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant for all analyses.

The mean age of the patients was 35.2 ± 4.8 years. Fifteen patients (60%) were male, and 10 (40%) were female. Small- to medium-sized stellate KPs and mild anterior chamber reactions were seen in all patients. Heterochromia was observed in 24% of the eyes, iris nodules in 36% of the eyes, lens opacity in 44% of the eyes, and vitreous cells and debris in 88% of the eyes. The mean SFCT was significantly thinner in eyes with FUS (296.47 ± 32.29 µm) than in the fellow eyes without FUS (324.47 ± 26.73 µm; p = 0.001). The mean average GCC thickness was found to be 101.09 ± 5.46 µm in eyes with FUS and 103.80 ± 6.65 µm in eyes without FUS (p = 0.023). There were no significant differences in the mean RNFL and macular thickness values.

We detected subfoveal choroidal thinning in eyes with FUS when compared with the uninvolved fellow eyes. In our opinion, thinning of the SFCT in FUS might be associated with autoimmune responses and chronic inflammatory processes.