Choroidal Structural Changes in Sympathetic Ophthalmia on Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is a rare bilateral granulomatous uveitis.
• Understanding choroidal changes in SO is crucial for diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate choroidal angioarchitecture in SO using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT).
• To quantitatively assess choroidal thickness (CT) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) in SO patients.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving six patients diagnosed with SO.
• Qualitative and quantitative analysis of SS-OCT images, including CT and CVI measurements.
• Comparison of SO patients with healthy controls.

Main Results:

• SS-OCT revealed characteristic findings in acute SO: serous retinal detachment, choroidal folds, altered angioarchitecture, and Dalen-Fuchs nodules.
• Significantly increased choroidal thickness (CT) in SO patients compared to controls (p=0.04).
• Significantly elevated choroidal vascularity index (CVI) in SO patients (p=0.006).

Conclusions:

• Elevated CVI in SO represents a novel, noninvasive biomarker for disease activity.
• SS-OCT offers valuable qualitative and quantitative data for SO diagnosis and monitoring.