Optical coherence tomographic assessment of dynamic macular changes in patients with Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease

Abstract

To determine the relationship between visual acuity and three-dimensional optical coherence tomographic (3D-OCT) findings of the macula in eyes with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease. Twelve eyes of six patients (three men and three woman, average age 53.2 years) in the acute phase of VKH disease were examined with a 3D-OCT instrument. All of the eyes had a serous macular detachment. The height of the sensory retinal detachment (SRD) and the sensory retinal thickness (SRT) were measured by OCT before treatment (acute stage) and at the convalescent stage. The correlation between the retinal morphology and visual acuity was evaluated. The height of the SRD and the SRT were 612.5 ± 371.2 and 136. 7 ± 22.0 μm, respectively. The initial visual acuity was significantly worse in eyes with a higher SRD (P = 0.014, r = 0.68) but the correlation between initial visual acuity and SRT was not significant. The recovery of visual acuity was attained in 50.7 ± 44.1 days and the complete resolution of the SRD was attained in 30.5 ± 23.2 days. The final visual acuity was attained several days after the complete resolution of the SRD in all four eyes of patients over 60 years of age, but the recovery of visual acuity often preceded the complete resolution of the SRD. The OCT images provided a noninvasive indicator of the severity of the disease and dynamic changes in the macular morphology, reflecting the effect of treatment in association with the improvement in visual acuity. Monitoring the SRD by 3D-OCT may guide the tapering of systemic corticosteroid treatment.