Comparison of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer and Ganglion Cell Complex with Optical Coherence Tomography in Thyroid-Associated Orbitopathy

Objective: To compare retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness in eyes with Thyroid associated orbitopathy ( TAO ), in eyes with ocular hypertension ( OHT )+TAO and in a control group of healthy eyes. Material and Methods: In this retrospective and cross-sectional study, we compared 54 eyes of 54 patients diagnosed with TAO with 35 eyes of 35 healthy patients. Patients with TAO were divided into two subgroups according to their intraocular pressure ( IOP ) values. Patients with IOP levels ¡Ü 21 mmHg were classified as Group 1 (33 eyes of 33 patients) and patients with IOP levels > 21 mmHg were classified as Group 2 (21 eyes of 21 patients). Results: Among 54 eyes with TAO, there were no significant differences in RNFL and GCC patterns between Group 1, Group 2 and the control group (Group 3). The mean deviation and pattern standard deviation were not significantly different between the groups. The FD-OCT parameters showed a strong correlation with MD and PSD values. Conclusion: RNFL and GCC thickness values were evaluated with FD-OCT in eyes with TAO and OHT. Although there was no difference in the RNFL and GCC parameters between the patient and control groups, we think that RNFL and GCC thickness evaluation with eye-tracking OCT could represent on objective diagnostic technique for detecting optic neuropathy in TAO.