AUTHOR=de Groot Evianne L. , Ossewaarde-van Norel Jeannette , Hoefer Imo E. , Haitjema Saskia , de Boer Joke H. , Kuiper Jonas J. W. TITLE=Central Multifocal Choroiditis: Platelet Granularity as a Potential Marker for Treatment With Steroid-Sparing Immunomodulatory Therapy JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ophthalmology VOLUME=1 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ophthalmology/articles/10.3389/fopht.2021.784848 DOI=10.3389/fopht.2021.784848 ISSN=2674-0826 ABSTRACT=Purpose

We aimed to evaluate the blood cell composition in patients with central multifocal choroiditis (cMFC), a rare form of posterior uveitis predominantly affecting young myopic women.

Methods

In this retrospective observational case-control study, a 104-parameter automated hematocytometry was conducted by the Cell-Dyn Sapphire hematology analyzer for 122 cases and 364 age- and sex-matched controls. Cox proportional regression analysis was used to assess the relation between the blood cell composition and the time between disease onset (first visit) and the start of systemic corticosteroid-sparing immunomodulatory therapy (IMT).

Results

At a false discovery rate of 5% (Padj), we identified a decrease of blood monocytes in cases with cMFC, which could be attributed to disease activity. Cox proportional hazard analysis including age and sex revealed that increased platelet granularity (measured by mean intermediate angle scatter) was an independent risk factor for treatment with IMT (hazard ratio = 2.3 [95% confidence interval = 1.28 - 4.14], Padj = 0.049). The time between the first presentation and the start of IMT was 0.3 years in the group with an increased platelet granularity and 3.4 years in the group without increased platelet granularity.

Conclusions

Patients with cMFC demonstrated a decrease in blood monocytes. Moreover, platelet granularity could potentially be used as a marker for treatment with IMT.