Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging of the Lacrimal Gland in Patients With Chronic Ocular Graft-Versus-Host Disease.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the image characteristics of the palpebral lobe of the lacrimal gland in patients with chronic ocular graft-versus-host disease (coGVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).

METHODS

This comparative cross-sectional study included 32 patients with coGVHD, 21 patients with severe aqueous tear deficiency dry eye, and 20 healthy control subjects. All subjects underwent an AS-OCT examination on the palpebral lobe of the lacrimal gland. The main outcomes are the number of visible gland lobules, ducts, and blood vessels and the proportions of mille crêpe-like structures in the AS-OCT images.

RESULTS

Compared with the other 2 groups, patients with coGVHD had significantly more blood vessels and slightly less visible lobules and ducts (all P <0.05) in the palpebral lacrimal gland. Mille crêpe-like structures were observed only in the coGVHD group. Number of blood vessels was positively correlated with time after allo-HSCT (β: 0.14, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01-0.26). Mille crêpe-like structure was positively correlated with coGVHD severity (odds ratio: 9.07, 95% CI, 1.75-16.38) and time after allo-HSCT (odds ratio: 0.13, 95% CI, 0.03-0.23).

CONCLUSIONS

We reported the AS-OCT characteristics of the palpebral lacrimal gland in coGVHD and found an increased number of blood vessels and mille crêpe-like structures. AS-OCT has the potential in the disease monitoring of coGVHD.