الفهرس 
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Abstract
Systemic autoimmune and inflammatory chronic diseases cause periods of
activity and periods of remission. Disease flares may appear suddenly without
warning. The consequences of an unexpected flare can be severe or even lethal.
Despite meliorated diagnostic methods and modern treatments, anticipating
oncoming flares remain a challenge. Subclinical inflammation often heralds
flares.
The vascular system is frequently affected, because of either
inflammation of the vessels (vasculitis) or an increased atherothrombotic
change. The high vascular component of the choroid makes this layer
susceptible to inflammation in multisystemic diseases. Choroid is the most
vascularized layer of the eye and one of the most highly vascularized tissues in
the human body.
Over the last decades, choroidal thickness and retinal thickness have been
proposed and evaluated as potential inflammatory markers for inflammatory
diseases, especially for those with a vascular component. Interestingly, choroid
and retina may be involved not only in the diseases with specific ocular
involvement, but also in conditions without direct eye injury. Among all the
different exploration techniques, the spectral-domain optical coherence
tomography seems to be the most promising noninvasive method to evaluate
inflammation.
So, the aim of this study was conducted to evaluate the role of choroid
thickness and retinal thickness as potentially inflammatory markers in systemic
autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
To elucidate our aim, a case control study was conducted on 80 eyes of 40
patients with systemic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases who were
attended to the outpatient ophthalmology clinic, faculty of medicine, Menoufia
University, in a period time from May 2021 to September 2022.
Subjects included in this study were divided int to two groups: group A
(patients): included 80 eyes of 40 patients with systemic autoimmune and
inflammatory diseases, group B (control): included 40 eyes of 20 healthy
subjects matched age and sex.
All patients were subjected to the following:
Patients were asked about age, medical history, surgical history, previous
trauma and last time they used contact lens if they are contact lens wearer.
A thorough ophthalmic examination was determined including: Uncorrected
visual acuity (UCVA), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), Anterior segment
biomicroscope, Intraocular pressure measurement (IOP), Dilated fundus
examination for all subjects, Optical coherence tomography (OCT), Choroidal
thicknesses and Peripapillary RNFL thickness.
Systemic evaluation was performed included Blood sugar, Complete blood
count, Liver function tests, Kidney function tests.