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

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To analyze choroidal angioarchitecture in sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) images.

Methods: Case–control study of six patients with SO. Qualitative changes and quantitative parameters, including choroidal thickness (CT) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI), were analyzed.

Results: Qualitative findings in the acute phase of SO on SS-OCT included retinal serous detachment with hyperreflective septa, choroidal folds, alterations in angioarchitecture with loss of vascular lacunae, and Dalen-Fuchs nodules. There was significantly higher CT in SO (284.05 ± 24.12 µm) compared to healthy controls (229.57 ± 46.67 µm, p = 0.04) and also increased CVI in SO (62.06 ± 2.07% vs 56.79 ± 3.15%, p = 0.006).

Conclusions: CVI was significantly increased in SO, representing a novel noninvasive biomarker of disease activity. SS-OCT provides a useful qualitative and quantitative parameter, which can be potentially explored in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with SO.

KEYWORDS:

• Sympathetic ophthalmia
• Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT)
• choroidal vascularity index (CVI)
• choroidal thickness

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.