Ocular Microcirculation in Hyperthyroidism: A Pilot Study Using Laser Speckle Flowgraphy
Author: Yi-Lin Liao
Base Hospital / Institution: Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou branch
ePoster presentation
Abstract ID: 25-214
Purpose
To evaluate ocular microcirculation in patients with hyperthyroidism with and without thyroid eye disease (TED) through laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG).
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with hyperthyroidism with and without TED who had undergone LSFG during October 2020–January 2022. The mean blur rate (MBR)—a key LSFG waveform parameter—was compared among three groups through one-way analysis of variance: patients without TED (no-TED group), those with TED without dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON; TED-no-DON group), and those with TED and DON (TED+DON group). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine the diagnostic performance of MBR for TED and DON.
Results
The cohort comprised 57 patients (57 eyes, 18 men; mean age, 51 ± 13 years). The no-TED, TED-no-DON, and TED+DON groups comprised 11 (19.3%), 37 (64.9%), and 9 (15.8%) patients, respectively. The MBR-overall, MBR-vessel, and MBR-tissue values were significantly lower in the TED+DON group than in the other groups (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.001, respectively). MBR-tissue exhibited the highest Youden index (0.496), with its cutoff, sensitivity, and specificity being 14.6, 58.7%, and 90.9%, respectively (p = 0.0016). For DON diagnosis, MBR-overall exhibited the highest area under the ROC curve (0.812) and Youden index (0.592) values, with 88.9% sensitivity and 70.3% specificity.
Conclusion
Patients with hyperthyroidism and TED, particularly those with DON, exhibit slower optic nerve head (ONH) blood flow than do those without TED. As a noninvasive, objective, and quantitative tool, LSFG effectively provides real-time data on ONH blood flow and is thus useful for assessing ONH blood flow in patients with hyperthyroidism.
Additional Authors
| First name | Last name | Base Hospital / Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Ming-Chih | Ho | Jen-Ai Medical Foundation, Chang Gung Medical Foundation |
