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Abstract
Purpose
The present study investigated the therapeutic effects of periocular triamcinolone acetonide injections to treat inflammatory signs in patients with severe acute thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.
Methods
Twenty-two patients with symptoms of severe acute thyroid ophthalmopathy were enrolled in the present study. The patients received four doses of 20 mg of triamcinolone acetonide via periocular injection into the inferotemporal orbital quadrant every 2 weeks. The changes in visual acuity, intraocular pressure, eye ball motility, exophthalmos, thickness of extraocular muscles, clinical activity score and NOSPECS score were measured.
Results
Eighteen of 22 patients (81.8%) showed improvement in soft tissue swelling, ten patients (45.5%) showed improvement in conjunctival hyperemia and one patient showed improvement of ocular motility. Clinical activity score and NOSPECS score had significant improvements. No patient had changes in visual acuity, intraocular pressure, diplopia, proptosis or thickness of extraocular muscles. An ocular adverse effect was found in one patient, who had subcutaneous fat atrophy at the injection site.
References
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Table 1.
Demographics and treatment outcome in patients with thyroid associated ophthalmopathy who received previous injection of triamcinolone acetonide
Table 2.
The changes of extraocular muscles thickness before and after treatment
| Thickness before injection (mean ± SD, mm) | Thickness after injection (mean ± SD, mm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Superior muscle group* | 5.47 ± 0.87 | 5.36 ± 0.98 |
| Inferior rectus | 7.05 ± 2.04 | 6.30 ± 1.69 |
| Medial rectus | 6.03 ± 1.64 | 5.53 ± 0.94 |
| Lateral rectus | 4.68 ± 0.77 | 4.44 ± 0.52 |
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