Unveiling Key Pathological Indicators for Disease Progression in Vogt Koyanagi Harada Disease and Sympathetic Ophthalmia Through Advanced Choroidal Volume Analysis

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To evaluate the association between quantitative parameters derived from volume analysis of optical coherence tomography (OCT) data and disease worsening in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKHD) and sympathetic ophthalmia (SO).

Methods

This retrospective study, conducted at Osaka University Hospital, employed swept-source OCT scans from patients diagnosed with VKHD or SO between October 2012 and January 2021. The choroidal vessel structure was segmented and visualized in three dimensions, generating quantitative vessel volume maps. Region-specific choroidal vessel volume (CVV), choroidal volume (CV), and vessel index (VI) were scrutinized for their potential correlation with disease severity.

Results

Thirty-five eyes of 18 VKHD and 2 SO patient (8 females, 10 males) were evaluated. OCT-derived CVV maps revealed regional CV alterations in VKHD and SO patients. Two parameters, i.e. CV at 3- and 6-month follow-ups (p = 0.044, p = 0.040, respectively, with area under the ROC curve of 0.70) and CVV at 6 months (p = 0.046, area under the ROC curve of 0.71), were significantly higher in recurrent VKHD and SO compared to effectively treated cases.

Conclusions

The volume analysis of OCT images facilitates a three-dimensional visualization of choroidal alterations, which may serve as a reflection of disease severity in VKHD and SO patients. Furthermore, noninvasive initial CVV or CV measurements may serve as potential biomarkers for predicting disease recurrence in VKHD and SO.

KEYWORDS:

• Biomarker for recurrence
• choroidal volume
• optical coherence tomography (OCT)
• vessel volume
• Vogt-koyanagi-harada disease (VKHD)

Author contributions

Study design: K.M. Data collection: A. T., K.M., N.S, N. H., R.K. OCT data analysis: L.S., Z.M., Z.W., and K.C. Interpretation of the data and writing of the manuscript. A. T., K.M., Z.W., K.C., and N.K. Thank for Song Mei for his efforts in the analysis.

Meeting presentation

This paper has not been presented, in full or in part, at a scientific meeting, nor is it currently under consideration for presentation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09273948.2024.2337836

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.