Quantifying anterior segment vascular changes in thyroid eye disease using optical coherence tomography angiography.

Abstract

Purpose: Thyroid eye disease (TED) presents challenges in the accurate assessment of disease activity, especially concerning ocular surface manifestations. This study aims to evaluate the potential of anterior segment optical coherence tomography angiography (AS-OCTA) in quantifying vascular changes associated with TED, thereby enhancing understanding of its pathophysiology and aiding in diagnosis and management.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 29 TED patients and 21 healthy controls. Participants underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination and AS-OCTA imaging of predefined regions of interest (ROI) in the nasal and temporal quadrants. Vascular metrics including vessel density (VD), vessel length density (VLD), vessel diameter index (VDI) and fractal dimension (FD) were analyzed using AS-OCTA software. Disease activity was assessed using clinical activity scores (CAS).

Results: TED patients exhibited increased VD and VLD, particularly in the temporal quadrant, compared to healthy controls. Additionally, TED patients in active disease phases demonstrated larger VDI in the nasal quadrant. Negative correlations were observed between superficial VD and disease activity scores, while positive correlations were found between deep VDI and disease activity.

Conclusion: AS-OCTA demonstrates potential in quantitatively assessing vascular changes in TED, providing valuable insights into its pathophysiology and potential implications for clinical management. Conjunctival vascular parameters might be valuable in grading the TED disease activity in the future.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.