Assesment of the Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness with Optical Coherence Tomography in Patients with Psoriasis

Objective: Psoriasis is an auto inflammatory disorder that affects the skin and joints. Psoriasis-related conditions that involve the eye are mainly blepharitis, conjunctivitis and keratitis and these conditions are seen in about 10% of psoriasis patients. However optic neuritis and pathologies of visual fields are rarely seen. Our study aims to investigate the mean retinal nerve fibres layer (RNFL) thickness using OCT in patient psoriasis. Methods: A total of 40 patients with psoriasis and 35 controls were included in our study. The average retinal nerve fibre layer thickness was measured using the optic disc cube protocol (200x200) and the Cirrus SD-OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) device. The statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS v 19 software programme. Results: The mean psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) was 8.04 and the mean disease duration was 8.9 years. The average RNFL thickness was not statistically different between the patients and the controls, and there was no correlation between the mean RNFL thickness and the severity and duration of the disease. Conclusion: To our knowledge this study is the first assessment of RNFL thickness in patient with psoriasis. However, of greater scope are needed to investigate possible retinal changes in such patients.