Abstract: Objective To evaluate changes in choroidal thickness as measured by enhanced depth imaging spectral -domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) after interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis C patients. Design Retrospective case series. Participants  11 cases (22 eyes) of chronic hepatitis C patients (43.7±10.5 year-old) with interferon therapy from Beijing Ditan Hospital. Methods All the patients underwent detailed ocular examinations including corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit lamp microscope, indirect ophthalmoscope and color fundus photography. The subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) was measured using EDI -OCT at baseline and 3 months after the treatment with interferon. Main Outcome Measures SFCT. Results Among 11 patients, 9 eyes (5.7%) of 6 cases developed interferon-related retinopathy.13 patients had bilateral retinopathy and 11 patients had unilateral retinopathy. SFCT of patients was (317.6±78.8) μm at the baseline and decreased to (280.1±77.1) μm after interferon therapy (P=0.000). There was no difference in SFCT between with retinopathy group (320.5±82.4) μm and without retinopathy group (252.1±61.7) μm (P=0.053). Conclusion There is an overall thinning of the SFCT on EDI OCT after interferon treatment in chronic hepatitis C patients. (Ophthalmol CHN, 2014, 23: 240-243) 

Key words: OCT, EDI, choroidal thickness, interferon