Measurement of Sub-Foveal Choroidal Thickness in Hyperthyroid Patients with Thyroid Associated Ophthalmopathy, using Spectral Domain OCT

Abstract

hyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is an auto-immune orbitopathy, associated with thyroid dysfunction. It results in compression of the orbital contents, impairment of the blood flow and thus affects the choroidal and retinal microstructure and function. The purpose of this study is to measure the central CT in active and inactive TAO using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and compare it to the control group. The cross section study was conducted on participants from the ophthalmology clinic of the National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology (NIDE). The study included 160 eyes from 80 participants (40 hyperthyroidism patients and 40 control subjects). Data were collected during the period from December 2019 to June 2020. The inclusion criteria included patients with hyperthyroidism who suffered from TAO. Both sexes were included with their ages ranging from 20 to 50 years. Patients with unclear media, inflammatory orbital disease other than TAO, history of orbital radiotherapy, refractive error greater than 6 diopters, systemic diseases affecting the CT other than TAO (e.g. diabetes mellitus and hypertension), or ocular diseases affecting the CT (e.g. glaucoma, uveitis, retinal and choroidal diseases) were excluded from our study. Smokers and pregnant females were also rolled out during patients' selection.