Structural changes of fovea during remission of Behçet's disease as imaged by spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Abstract

Purpose: To acquire the image of the fovea during remission of ocular Behçet's disease using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and to further assess the correlation between best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and SD-OCT findings.

Methods: A total of 24 eyes of 14 patients with ocular Behçet's disease were examined with SD-OCT. The relationships between BCVA and other clinical characteristics, including foveal thickness and status of external limiting membrane (ELM) or the junction between photoreceptor inner and outer segments (IS/OS), were analysed for statistical significance.

Results: BCVA in eyes with intact IS/OS was significantly better than that in eyes with ill-defined IS/OS (P=0.0001). Foveal thickness (P=0.0001) and male sex (P=0.03) were also significantly different between eyes with and without complete IS/OS line.

Conclusions: Definition of the IS/OS line by SD-OCT, but not status of the ELM line, appears to be associated with BCVA in patients with ocular Behçet's disease. Accordingly, SD-OCT may prove useful in the evaluation of visual function after ocular attacks of Behçet's disease.