Assessment of central retinal thickness, choroidal thickness, and retinal nerve fiber layer in psoriasis: a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography study

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate choroidal thickness (CT), retinal thickness, ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL), and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) structures in psoriasis patients using optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: This study included 33 psoriasis patients and 33 healthy individuals. Moreover, psoriasis patients who did not use any systemic anti-inflammatory treatment were evaluated. Retinal and choroidal images of the participants were obtained with spectral-domain OCT. Furthermore, CT was measured in the subfoveal, temporal, and nasal positions at 500-µm intervals to a distance of 1,500 μm from the foveal center. RESULTS: The mean psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score was 5.70 (range, 2.40–9.00). No significant differences were found in subfoveal (p = 0.659), temporal, and nasal CT values in psoriasis patients compared with the control group (p > 0.05). Similarly, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of central retinal thickness, macular GCIPL, and RNFL (p > 0.05). Moreover, no significant correlation exists between the duration of psoriasis disease and PASI scores and OCT parameters (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: No significant changes in CT, ganglion cell layer, RNFL, and retinal thickness values were noted in psoriasis patients with mild to moderate mean PASI score.