Evaluation of retinal and choroidal variations in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy using optical coherence tomography angiography.

BACKGROUND To investigate the difference in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, choroidal thickness (CT) and superficial retinal vessels between thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) patients and healthy controls. To identify the potential influencing factors for these parameters and evaluate their diagnostic abilities in TAO. METHODS Twenty active TAO patients, 33 inactive TAO patients and 29 healthy participants were enrolled. TAO patients were divided according to the clinical activity score (CAS). RNFL thickness and CT were measured by HD-OCT, while foveal avascular zone (FAZ), vascular density and perfusion density were measured by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). SPSS software was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Active TAO patients had thinner RNFL thickness than the other two groups (P   0.05). The AUC analysis indicated these parameters also exhibited a significant discriminatory power in TAO diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS TAO patients had significant variations in RNFL thickness, choroidal thickness, FAZ area and superficial retinal vessels. These parameters appeared to be potential adjuncts in the evaluation of TAO patients.