Thyroid Eye Disease and the Role of Infusion-Based Care
Thyroid eye disease (TED) is a chronic autoimmune condition that affects the tissues and muscles around the eyes, leading to inflammation, swelling, and structural changes that can significantly impact vision. TED is most commonly associated with Graves’ disease. In TED, the immune system mistakenly attacks orbital tissues, causing inflammation and expansion of fat and muscle behind the eyes. This can push the eyes forward and affect eye movement and function.
TED affects an estimated 25–50% of individuals with Graves’ disease, though only a smaller portion develop moderate-to-severe symptoms requiring specialized treatment. Women are more frequently affected, but men often experience more severe disease when it occurs. Key risk factors include autoimmune thyroid disease, smoking, poorly controlled thyroid levels, and a family history of autoimmune conditions. TED can vary widely in severity and presentation; common symptoms include: eye bulging (proptosis), redness, swelling, or irritation around the eyes, dryness, tearing, or a gritty sensation, light sensitivity, double vision, eye pain, difficulty fully closing the eyelids, and in severe cases, vision impairment. Early recognition and treatment are essential to reduce complications.
Sage Infusion provides specialized outpatient care for patients requiring treatment with Tepezza for TED. Tepezza is the first FDA-approved therapy specifically designed for thyroid eye disease. It targets the IGF-1 receptor, which plays a key role in the inflammatory process driving TED. Clinical studies have shown that Tepezza can reduce eye bulging, improve double vision, and decrease pain and inflammation in many patients, particularly during the active phase of the disease.
Sage Infusion supports patients throughout the treatment process by providing a comfortable outpatient infusion environment, clinical monitoring, and education to ensure safe and effective therapy delivery. Tepezza is administered as an IV infusion every 3 weeks for a total of 8 doses. Some providers may order a second round of Tepezza infusions based on the severity of the patient’s TED. Sage addresses the potential Tepezza side effect of hyperglycemia by monitoring a patient’s blood glucose in the infusion center. For women of childbearing age on Tepezza treatment, convenient on-site pregnancy testing is performed to ensure the patient is clinically cleared to receive treatment.
Hearing Monitoring and the Shoebox Audiogram
An important component of Sage Infusion’s patient safety approach is the use of audiogram monitoring as part of baseline and follow-up hearing assessments; this service is no cost to the patient. The audiogram is a portable, tablet-based hearing screening tool that allows clinicians to quickly evaluate auditory function in a convenient clinical setting. In addition, the audiogram provided at Sage Infusion can be used to guide referral for formal audiology evaluation if patients report symptoms like tinnitus, muffled hearing, or hearing changes.
This proactive approach helps ensure early detection of potential hearing-related side effects and reinforces Sage Infusion’s commitment to comprehensive patient monitoring.