Objective  To explore the clinical features of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) with extraocular muscle involvement.

  Methods  The data of 2170 TAO patients who were seen at the Orbital Disease Clinic, West China Hospital, Sichuan University from September, 2009 to January, 2020 were collected retrospectively. The extraocular muscle involvement of these patients was confirmed by CT or MRI. Their general condition, medical history, clinical manifestations and imaging features were analyzed retrospectively.

  Results  Among the 2170 TAO patients, 932 were male and 1238 were female. The mean (±SD) age of all the patients was (46.95±13.06) years, ranging between 6 and 85. 1684 patients (77.60%) suffered from hyperthyroidism, 13 patients (0.59%) had thyroid cancer, 80 patients (3.69%) had hypothyroidism, and 393 patients (18.11%) had normal thyroid function. Proptosis (55.25%) and diplopia (33.09%) were the main reasons for their visits to the clinic, and restricted eye movements (83.46%) was the most common sign. 122 patients with a mean age of (53.24±13.07) years did not show any eyelid sign and had only extraocular muscle involvement. The 2170 TAO patients had a total of 3799 eyes of extrocular muscle involvement, with 541 patients experiencing monocular involvement and 1629 patients, binocular involvement; 1204 eyes (31.69%) had a single extrocular muscle involved and 2595 eyes (68.31%) had multiple extrocular muscles involved. Inferior rectus was the most commonly involved muscle, followed by superior rectus, medial rectus, and lateral rectus in descending order of involvement frequency. Of the 1014 patients who underwent enhanced MRI, 71.99% were shown to be in the active phase. 69.03% of the 775 patients identified as being in inactive phase according to their clinical activity score (CAS) were shown to be in the active phase according to their MRI results.

  Conclusion  TAO patients with extraocular muscle involvement have their own specific clinical manifestations. CT and MRI can both be used to assist in the diagnosis of extraocular muscle involvement. MRI can be used to assess the pathological stage of extraocular muscles and is more sensitive than CAS.