Is optical coherence tomography an effective device for evaluation of tear film meniscus in patients with acne rosacea?

PURPOSE: To investigate the tear meniscus using Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) in patients with acne rosacea and to determine the relationship between tear film break-up tests (TBUT), Schirmer test and FD-OCT values and to compare them with that of healthy controls. METHODS: One hundred and four patients with acne rosacea and 104 body mass index age-sex-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in this prospective case-control study. Tear meniscus height (TMH), tear meniscus depth (TMD), and tear meniscus cross-sectional area (TMA) were measured using FD-OCT (RTVue-100); TBUT, Schirmer test and dry eye questionnaire (OSDI) were evaluated. Correlation was assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Mean TMH, TMD, TMA, TBUT, and Schirmer test values of acne rosacea patients were significantly lower than and OSDI score significantly higher than those of controls. Tear mensicus values were significantly correlated with OSDI scores, TBUT, and Schirmer test results. The intraobserver intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for tear parameters ranged from 0.90 to 0.96 and interobserver ICC ranged from 0.92 to 0.94, which revealed high reproducibility for all measurements parameters both acne rosacea and control subjects. Accuracy of dry eye diagnosis by FD-OCT was 60.4% for TMH, 58.7% for TMD, and 64.8% for TMA. CONCLUSION: Tear meniscus measurement with FD-OCT could provide acceptable specificity and sensitivity in diagnosis of dry eye in acne rosacea patients.

Evaluation of choroidal thickness using enhanced depth imaging by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.

PURPOSE: To investigate the choroidal thickness using optical coherence tomography in the eyes of patients with unilateral and bilateral pseudoexfoliation syndrome and to compare them with healthy controls. METHODS: We studied four groups: (1) affected eyes from 30 patients with unilateral PEX syndrome affecting the right eye of 17 patients and the left eye of 13 patients; (2) clinically unaffected eyes of 30 patients with unilateral PEX syndrome; (3) the eyes of 30 patients with bilateral PEX syndrome; and (4) the eyes of 30 normal healthy subjects. Choroidal thickness was evaluated using high-speed, high-resolution enhanced depth imaging by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Optical coherence tomography features were compared in all groups using the statistical package SPSS v 15.0. RESULTS: The mean subfoveal choroidal thicknesses were 237.35±58.01 µm in group 1; 330.75±47.84 µm in group 2; 206.3±86.75 µm in group 3; and 311.8±51.42 µm in group 4. Significant differences in the mean subfoveal choroidal thickness were found between groups 1 and 2 (P<0.001), groups 1 and 4 (P=0.004), groups 2 and 3 (P<0.001), and groups 3 and 4 (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, it was observed that clinically affected eyes of patients with PEX syndrome have significantly thinner choroids compared with the clinically unaffected eyes of patients with unilateral PEX syndrome and eyes of healthy controls.

Evaluation of choroidal thickness using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in migraine patients during acute migraine attacks: a comparative study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess choroidal thickness in migraine patients during acute migraine attacks and compare them with healthy controls, using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this prospective case-control study, choroidal thicknesses of 46 migraine patients during acute migraine attacks and 46 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were measured using a high-speed, high-resolution frequency domain-OCT device. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmic examination before the measurements. OCT measurements were taken at the same time of day (0900 hours), in order to minimize the effects of diurnal variation. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in mean choroidal thickness between the migraine patients during acute migraine attacks (356.3±21.46 µm) and the controls (302.3±18.34 µm; P=0.000). There were significant differences at all measurement points (P<0.001 for all). CONCLUSION: The increased choroidal thickness of the migraine patients during acute migraine attacks might be related to the vascular pathology of the disease. Further studies are needed to evaluate the etiopathologic relationship between choroidal thickness and acute migraine attack.