Purpose
Prior studies have addressed the reproducibility of manual subfoveal choroidal thickness measurements in healthy eyes, but none have examined uveitic eyes. This study seeks to determine intra-session and inter-observer reproducibility of manual subfoveal choroidal thickness measurements using EDI-OCT in patients with uveitis and to correlate subfoveal choroidal thickness with anatomical location and disease activity.
Methods
EDI-OCT images were collected for patients with anterior (n = 6), intermediate (n = 9), posterior (n = 13), and panuveitis (n = 6). Two separate scans were obtained at a single visit for each patient, except for three. Manual measurements of subfoveal choroidal thickness were performed by two masked ophthalmologists using the manufacturer’s software to place calipers beneath the fovea at the outer border of the retinal pigment epithelium and the inner scleral border. These measurements were compared using paired t-tests, and their relationships were assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients.
Results
Sixty eyes from 34 patients were included in the study. Most eyes (62%, 37/60) were quiet with 13% (8/60) minimally active and 25% (15/60) active at the time the scans were obtained. Nineteen patients (56%) were taking systemic corticosteroids and/or steroid-sparing immunosuppressive agents. No association was observed between subfoveal choroidal thickness and anatomical location (Table 1, P>0.41). Despite an observed trend of greater subfoveal choroidal thickness with increasing disease activity, the association between disease activity and choroidal thickness was not statistically significant (Table 2, P>0.08). Manual EDI-OCT measurements in uveitic eyes, however, showed substantial agreement within a session (all r values >0.83, P<0.001) and between observers (all r values >0.76, P<0.001).
Conclusions
EDI-OCT is a non-invasive imaging method that can be used to obtain detailed images of the choroid in patients with uveitis. Although no statistically significant difference in subfoveal choroidal thickness was found based on anatomical location or disease activity, a trend of greater subfoveal choroidal thickness with increasing disease activity was observed. Intra-session and inter-observer manual EDI-OCT measurements were highly reproducible in patients with uveitis.