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. 2024 Oct;262(10):3313-3321.
doi: 10.1007/s00417-024-06526-6. Epub 2024 May 23.

Subclinical choroidal involvement in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

André Ferreira #  1   2   3 , Luísa Viveiros #  4 , Raquel Faria  5   6 , Ana Carolina Abreu  7 , Daniela Santos  7 , Maria João Furtado  7   6 , Miguel Lume  7 , José P Andrade  8   9 , Pedro Menéres  7   10
Affiliations

Subclinical choroidal involvement in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

André Ferreira et al. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2024 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the choroidal status of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and OCT-Angiography.

Methods: SLE patients with disease duration < 10 years, no disease activity and no ocular involvement were recruited and cross-sectionally evaluated. A demographically similar cohort of healthy subjects was used for comparison. The main outcome is choroidal vascularity index (CVI). As secondary outcomes, choriocapillaris parameters and choroidal thickness (CT) were evaluated.

Results: Forty eyes of 40 subjects (20 SLE patients and 20 healthy subjects) were studied with a mean ± SD age of 36.7 ± 9.9 years. In the SLE group, the mean ± SD duration of disease was 7.35 ± 2.21 years. Increased CVI was found in the SLE group (p = 0.022). Considering the choriocapillaris, SLE patients presented a lower number (p = 0.037) and a smaller total area (p = 0.041) of signal voids. No differences between groups were found in CT. For SLE patients, CT at subfoveal, temporal and inferior locations presented a negative moderate correlation with disease duration. A strong correlation between choriocapillaris parameters and age was demonstrated for both groups.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence of subclinical choroidal changes in adult SLE patients with inactive disease and no overt ocular manifestation. Increased CVI and fewer and smaller flow voids in choriocapillaris with normal CT suggest increased choroidal vascularity in SLE.

Keywords: Autoimmune Disease; CVI; Choriocapillaris; Choroid; Choroidal thickness; Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography; Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

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