Measurement of sub-foveal choroidal thickness in hyperthyroid patients with thyroid associated ophthalmopathy using spectral domain OCT

Introduction: Thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), also identified as Graves’ ophthlamopathy or dysthyroid opthhalmopathy, is the most frequent extra-ocular manifestation of thyroid dysfunction. Aim: Purpose of this research was to measure the central choroidal thickness in hyperthyroid cases with active and inactive TAO with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) & compare it to the control group. Patients and methods: The research was a cross-sectionally in Al-Azhar University hospitals and National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology. Patients recruited for the study classified into two groups: (A): 15 eyes of hyperthyroid cases with TAO. (B): 15 eyes of healthy participants as control group. Results: There was significant rise of CT in case group (331±86.23) in comparison to control group (268.57±56.58) (P.≤0.05). No significant difference of vision, IOP & CMT amongst 2 groups (P.>0.05). Conclusion: The outcomes of this research indicate that there is a significant affection of sub-foveal choroidal thickness in TAO cases. There is a significant rise in choroidal thickness in TAO patients either active or inactive in comparison to control group, but did not show a correlation with other studied parameters. OCT has the potential to aid in the definitive diagnosis of TAO by revealing macular and choroidal abnormalities.