Spectral domain optical coherence tomography findings of patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible effects of (ankylosing spondylitis) AS on choroidal thickness (CT) and other retinal layers using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods This cross-sectional study group comprised 41 AS patients and age and sex-matched 46 control subjects. None of our patients had active anterior uveitis during the measurements. We evaluated and compared CT, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness, focal loss volume (FLV) and global loss volume (GLV) of the participants. Results The CT of the patients at 1500 mu m (286.20 mu m +/- 65.81), 1000 mu m (309.55 mu m +/- 85.33) nasally to the fovea and subfoveal layer (339.93 mu m +/- 69.93) were thicker than in controls (p = 0.007,p = 0.037,p = 0.008). Except nasal layer, all RNFL layers were significantly thinner than controls (p < 0.001). GCC and macular thickness were also thinner than controls (p < 0.001). Conclusion In conclusion, present findings may suggest that the AS disease may affect the choroidal, RNFL and GCC thickness by disease's own inflammatory effect, independently from the uveitis history.