Abstract

Evaluation of the Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness and the Choroidal Thickness in Generalized Vitiligo Patients

Muslum Toptan and Mustafa Aksoy*

Aim: The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and the choroidal thickness are compared to healthy volunteers in vitiligo patients. Materials and Methods: The study included the right eyes of 60 healthy individuals and 60 generalized vitiligo patients. Following routine ophthalmological examination, the RNFL thickness and the choroidal thickness were analyzed with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Results: It was determined that the mean macular choroidal thickness decreased significantly in vitiligo patients, while the RNFL thickness did not change (p<0.05). Conclusion: As the fact that the RNFL thickness does not change despite the significantly reduced choroidal thickness in vitiligo patients may indicate that the melanin cells that are dense in the choroid are affected, the noninvasive, simple and rapid measurement of the choroidal thickness with OCT can help in determining the damage in vitiligo patients. 

Published Date: 2020-05-09; Received Date: 2020-04-17