OCULAR IMMUNOLOGY AND INFLAMMATION, vol.25, no.3, pp.356-362, 2017 (SCI-Expanded)
Purpose: To evaluate choroidal thickness (CT) and investigate the involvement of choroidal circulation in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).Methods: A total of 120 eyes of 60 SSc patients and 60 eyes of 30 healthy controls were evaluated. CT measurements were performed at the subfoveal region, 1000 mu m nasal and 1000 mu m temporal to the fovea, using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography. CT measurements were compared between the patients and controls.Results: The average subfoveal, parafoveal nasal and parafoveal temporal CT were significantly thinner in SSc patients when compared with healthy controls (297.77 60.8 mu m vs 339.8 +/- 50.4 mu m; 267.32 +/- 51.1 mu m vs 308.65 +/- 49.9 mu m; 270.63 +/- 46.3 mu m vs 309.22 +/- 42.4 mu m, respectively; p<0.001 for all).Conclusions: Reduced CT in SSc patients supports the hypothesis of widespread vascular injury, including the ocular microcirculation.