Purpose: To reveal the recurrence rate of Graves ophthalmopathy (GO) presenting as diplopia in the primary position for 1 year after varied doses of intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) followed by oral prednisolone, with dosing based on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings.
Study design: Retrospective study.
Methods: We analyzed the medical charts of 25 patients who were diagnosed with new-onset GO and who received treatment for diplopia in the primary position at our hospital. Treatment consisted of MRI-determined varied doses of IVMP followed by oral prednisolone. If the MRI findings showed deterioration or were unchanged after 6 g of IVMP, 3 g of IVMP was added for further treatment. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to reveal the associations between the independent variables and the dependent variable, defined as recurrence.
Results: The mean patient age (± standard deviation) was 61.3 ± 11.3 years. The female to male ratio was 15:10. Twenty-one of the 25 patients received a total of 6 g of IVMP, whilst the remaining 4 patients received a total of 9 g of IVMP. In 5 patients (20%), the GO recurred within 1 year of IVMP administration. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses showed that the MRI findings after 6 g of IVMP affected recurrence (P < .05).
Conclusion: This study showed that in 20% of patients, GO recurred within 1 year of administration of varied doses of IVMP, with the dosing based on the MRI findings. Furthermore, assessment of inflammation by use of MRI after 6 g of IVMP has a potential role in predicting recurrence.
Keywords: Diplopia; Graves ophthalmopathy; Intravenous methylprednisolone; Magnetic resonance imaging; Recurrence rate.
© 2022. Japanese Ophthalmological Society.