Choroidal thickness affection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its relation to disease activity

ObjectiveThe aim was to evaluate choroidal thickness (CT) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and detect the relation between disease activity and joint damage in patients with RA.BackgroundRA is a systemic inflammatory disease associated with various extra-articular organ manifestations including ocular manifestations.Patients and methodsWe included 100 eyes of 50 patients with RA and 100 eyes of 50 controls without RA in the study. Subfoveal CT was measured using enhanced-depth imaging optic coherence tomography. Disease activity score 28 (DAS-28) and Larsen score were calculated for each patient with RA and compared with measurements of CT.ResultsSubfoveal CT was statistically thinner in patients with RA than controls. The mean subfoveal CT for the RA group was 291.12 ± 36.48, whereas that for controls was 305.35 ± 24.08, with a P value of 0.024. Additionally, upon evaluating whether the DAS-28 score correlated with CT, there was a statistically significant correlation between them (P < 0.001). When patients with RA were grouped as having either active RA or RA in remission, subfoveal CT values were statistically significantly lower in the active group. We found a statistically significant correlation between the Larsen score of the patients with RA and the CT measurements (P < 0.001). Patients with thinner CT have more joint damage and higher Larsen scores.ConclusionSubfoveal CT was significantly thinner in patients with RA than in healthy controls, with a statistically significant correlation of CT measurements with both DAS-28 and Larsen scores.