Evaluation and comparison of choroidal thickness with enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) in patients with Behçet disease with and without ocular involvement

Purpose: To assess sub-foveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) in patients with Behçet disease (BD) using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) and to compare SFCT in patients with and without ocular BD (OBD). Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted on patients with BD (n= 51) between October2016 to October 2018. Complete ocular examinations including slit lamp exam and fundus examination with dilated pupil were performed for all patients. The SFCT values were compared between patients with and without OBD. EDI-OCT was used to measure SFCT and wide field Fluorescein angiography (WF-FAG) for evaluation of ocular involvement and to determine the active or quiescent phases of Behçet’s uveitis. We hypothesize that Changes of SFCT are correlated with changes of WF-FAG scores.Results: 102 eyes from 51 patients (age range: 29 to 52 years old) (male: 23, female: 28) with BD were studied. The mean age ± standard deviation in the patients with OBD and patients without OBD was respectively 38.71 ± 7.8 and 36.22 ± 10.59 years. Mean SFCT in patients with OBD was significantly greater than patients without OBD (364.17 ± 93.34 versus 320.43 ± 56.70 μm; P=0.008). Mean SFCT was greater in the active uveitis than quiescent phase (368.12 ± 104.591 versus 354.57 ± 58.701 μm, p=0.579). Moreover, there was a correlation between the changes in SFCT and the scores of FAG; however, it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Choroidal thickness significantly increases in BD patients with ocular involvement and during active phase of OBD. EDI-OCT could be a noninvasive test for evaluation of ocular involvement in patients with BD.