Choroidal thickness in thyroid eye disease and its correlation with disease activity

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Thyroid eye disease (TED) management benefits from understanding its impact on ocular structures.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) offers valuable insights into choroidal changes in TED.
• This study investigates specific OCT parameters in the Indian population with active and inactive TED.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) between active and inactive TED.
• To evaluate the relationship between these OCT parameters and disease activity in TED patients.

Main Methods:

• An observational, cross-sectional study included patients with active and inactive TED.
• SFCT was measured using OCT, and CVI was calculated via Image J software.
• Statistical analysis included Mann-Whitney U and Student t tests, with multivariate regression.

Main Results:

• SFCT was significantly lower in eyes with higher clinical activity scores (CAS) and older age.
• No significant difference in CVI was observed between active and inactive TED groups.
• Findings on SFCT and CAS relationship differ from some prior studies.

Conclusions:

• Lower SFCT is associated with higher CAS and older age in TED patients.
• CVI does not appear to be a differentiating factor between active and inactive TED in this cohort.
• Further research may clarify the role of SFCT and CVI in TED pathogenesis and progression.