CHENNAI: The pandemic has fundamentally challenged not just the healthcare systems in the country but also led to an alarming increase in the incidence of chronic health disorders. A case in point is Thyroid Eye Disease (TED), an autoimmune eye disorder in some thyroid patients that progressively damages tissues and muscles around the eye area.
Nontoxic uninodular goiter
You'll usually notice it most in your eyelids, lips, and tongue. Sometimes a thyroid condition causes extra fluid to build up in tissues around your eyes. When that happens, thyroid eye disease can make the muscles that control your eyes get bigger. You might find you have trouble focusing or your vision may be blurry.
Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is an ocular condition that frequently manifests with thyroid dysfunction, and is the most common extrathyroidal manifestation of Graves' disease.
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Graves' disease and Hashimoto's disease affect the thyroid. Although “thyroid” is in the name, Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) is an autoimmune condition that affects the muscle and fat tissue behind your eyes, not your thyroid.
Exophthalmos, also known as proptosis, is the medical term for bulging or protruding eyeballs. It can affect 1 or both eyes and is most often caused by thyroid eye disease.
Proptosis can describe any organ that is displaced forward, while exophthalmos refers to only the eyes. Proptosis can include any directional forward displacement.
These include vision testing, color vision testing, visual fields, eyelid measurements, eye pressure readings, checking the optic nerves, and sometimes photographs. If you have thyroid disease and suspect that you may have thyroid eye disease, your doctor may recommend that you see an eye doctor.
D. Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) isn't usually associated with eye disease. In severe cases, however, hypothyroidism may cause swelling around the eyes and a loss of the hairs in the outer part of the eyebrows.
Although TED is seen in all types of thyroid disorders, it is most common in patients that are or were hyperthyroid. It also rarely occurs in those who are hypothyroid and even when there is an absence of thyroid abnormalities in the body.
TED – also known as Graves' Orbitopathy or Ophthalmopathy – is an autoimmune condition. It occurs when the body's immune system attacks the tissue surrounding the eye causing inflammation in the tissues around and behind the eye.
Ophthalmopathy: Any eye disease.
Graves' eye disease, also called Graves' ophthalmopathy, is a problem that develops in people with an overactive thyroid caused by Graves' disease. Up to one-half of people with Graves' disease develop eye symptoms. Usually the eye symptoms are mild and easily treated.
Cause of Graves' ophthalmopathy Graves' ophthalmopathy results from a buildup of certain carbohydrates in the muscles and tissues behind the eyes — the cause of which also isn't known. It appears that the same antibody that can cause thyroid dysfunction may also have an "attraction" to tissues surrounding the eyes.
Thyroid eye disease (TED) is an autoimmune disease caused by the activation of orbital fibroblasts by autoantibodies directed against thyroid receptors . TED is a rare disease, which had an incidence rate of approximately 19 in 100,000 people per year in one study. The disorder characterized by enlargement of the extraocular muscles, fatty and connective tissue volume. Graves' disease (GD) is an autoimmune disorder involving the thyroid gland, typically characterized by the presence of circulating autoantibodies that bind to and stimulate the thyroid hormone receptor (TSHR), resulting in hyperthyroidism and goiter. Organs other than the thyroid can also be affected, leading to the extrathyroidal (outside the thyroid gland itself) manifestations of GD. TED is observed in ~ 50% of patients while Graves' dermopathy and acropachy are quite rare. TED was previously known as thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), Graves orbitopathy (GO) and other variations.
The pattern of the disease follow the Rundle’s curve which describe the plot of orbital disease severity against time#N#Initial phase- inflammatory phase duration may last from 6 – 18 months with orbital and periorbital signs i.e. proptosis and retraction.#N#Static phase- decrease in the inflammatory phase and minimal improvement.#N#Quiescent phase- gradual improvement with improved motility and retraction of the muscles 1 Initial phase- inflammatory phase duration may last from 6 – 18 months with orbital and periorbital signs i.e. proptosis and retraction. 2 Static phase- decrease in the inflammatory phase and minimal improvement. 3 Quiescent phase- gradual improvement with improved motility and retraction of the muscles
TED is most frequently associated with Hyperthyroidism, consisting of approximately 90% of the cases. However about 10% of patients with TED have either a normal-functioning (Euthyroid) or under-functioning thyroid (Hypothyroidism e.g. Hashimoto's thyroiditis) .
Laboratory test. The diagnosis can be done clinically with the characteristic clinical picture, restrictive nature of the disease and associated systemic thyroid disease. Though not diagnostic, thyroid hormone levels, thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSI), anti thyroid antibodies can be suggestive of diagnosis.
Thyrotoxicosis [hyperthyroidism] Clinical Information. A common form of hyperthyroidism with a diffuse hyperplastic goiter. It is an autoimmune disorder that produces antibodies against the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor.
Exophthalmos occurring in association with goiter; hyperthy roidism with protrusion of the eyeballs. Hyperthyroidism associated with diffuse hyperplasia of the thyroid gland (goiter), resulting from production of antibodies that are directed against the thyrotropin receptor complex of the follicular epithelial cells.
These autoantibodies can also affect the eyes (graves ophthalmopathy) and the skin (graves dermopathy). A condition usually caused by excessive production of thyroid hormone and characterized by an enlarged thyroid gland. Exophthalmos occurring in association with goiter; hyperthyroidism with protrusion of the eyeballs.
The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM E05.0 became effective on October 1, 2021.
A Wikipedia review on "Graves' ophthalmopathy" (Last modified July 20, 2015) states that "Eyelid surgery is the most common surgery performed on Graves ophthalmopathy patients. Lid-lengthening surgeries can be done on upper and lower eyelid to correct the patient’s appearance and the ocular surface exposure symptoms.
Sometimes combinations of the following procedures are used: Elevating the head at night, cool compresses, sunglasses, lubricating eyedrops, or prisms for glasses;
Aetna considers orbital decompression surgery, and eye muscle surgery or eyelid surgery (e.g., marginal myotomy of levator palpebrae muscle, lateral tarsal canthoplasty, mullerectomy (resection of the Müller muscle), eyelid spacer grafts, and recession of the lower eyelid retractors) medically necessary for members with severe Graves' ophthalmopathy (especially individuals with marked proptosis and optic neuropathy) when both of the following measures have not been successful:
Graves' ophthalmopathy generally causes the eyelids to open more widely. The front surface of the eyeball becomes exposed beyond the eyelid and causes excessive tearing and discomfort. Lid retraction may be improved by orbital decompression, especially the lower lid. However, the backward and downward movement of the globe following decompression may accentuate upper lid retraction. Surgical re-positioning (recession) of the upper lid retractors may have to be performed as an adjunct.
Aetna considers the following interventions experimental and investigational for the treatment of Graves' ophthalmopathy because their effectiveness for this indication has not been established (not an all-inclusive list):
Rau and colleagues (2018) noted that Graves' disease is a common autoimmune inflammatory condition of the thyroid. About 25 % of affected patients also develop orbital symptoms like exophthalmos, proptosis and diplopia – called Graves' Ophthalmopathy. Not all patients respond well to the standard therapy of systemic glucocorticoid administration. The inflammatory swelling of the intra-orbital muscles can lead to pressure-induced damage of the optic nerve. Orbital decompression surgery is a therapeutic option for these patients with varying success. Other symptoms like the extreme malposition of the ocular globe are poorly addressed by decompression surgery and demand for different therapeutic approaches. These researchers presented the case of a 46-year old patient with an acute exacerbation of Graves' ophthalmopathy. Clinically apparent was a convergent strabismus fixus with severe hypotropia of both eyes. The patient suffered from attacks of heavy retro-bulbar pain and eyesight deteriorated dramatically. Since neither systemic glucocorticoid therapy nor orbital decompression surgery had helped to halt the progress of the disease, a decision was made in favor of the surgical release and re-positioning of the inferior and medial rectus muscle as a final therapeutic option. Surgery of both eyes was performed consecutively within 1 week. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the surgical steps and treatment outcome were provided and supplemented by a discussion of the current literature. The authors concluded that Graves' Ophthalmopathy is a variant and therapeutically challenging disease. Exceptional courses of the disease call for therapeutic approaches off the beaten track. Surgical extra-ocular muscle repositioning, which has not been described before in the context of Graves' Ophthalmopathy, proved to be effective in improving the patient's eyesight and quality of life (QOL). These preliminary findings need to be further investigated.
Bartalena and Tanda (2009) noted that RCT have not shown a benefit of somatostatin analogs (e.g., lanreotide and octreotide) for Graves' ophthalmopathy. They stated that there are also few data to support the use of intravenous immune globulin for this condition. This is in agreement with the consensus statement of the European Group on Graves' orbitopathy on the management of Graves' orbitopathy (Bartalena et al, 2008), which stated that treatments of marginal or unproven value include somatostatin analogs and intravenous immunoglobulins.
Below is a list of common ICD-10 codes for Ophthalmology. This list of codes offers a great way to become more familiar with your most-used codes, but it's not meant to be comprehensive. If you'd like to build and manage your own custom lists, check out the Code Search!
You can play training games using common ICD-9/10 codes for Ophthalmology! When you do, you can compete against other players for the high score for each game. As you progress, you'll unlock more difficult levels! Play games like...
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