Endocrine ophthalmopathy (EOP) is a multidisciplinary problem at the intersection of endocrinology and ophthalmology. The patients presenting with this condition experience deficit of adequate medical aid due to the poor cooperation between ophthalmologists and endocrinologists. There are practically no specialized centres in this country where the patients with EOP could receive the combined treatment of this pathology including the surgical intervention. Taken together, late diagnostics and delayed seeking the efficacious medical assistance, the absence of stable compensation of the functional disorders of the thyroid gland, erroneous identification of the phase of the disease, and incorrect choice of the methods for its treatment, the lack of coordination and consistency in the actions of ophthalmologists and endocrinologists are responsible for the low effectiveness of EOP treatment. On the other hand, the absence of the unified approach to diagnostics and treatment of endocrine ophthalmopathy, the necessity of introducing the international experience gained in this field into the routine clinical practice and pooling efforts of representatives of different medical disciplines (endocrinologists, ophthalmologists, radiologists, endocrine surgeons, and neurosurgeons) created the prerequisites for the solution of the EOP problems and gave impetus to the development of the recommendations being proposed.

The proposed clinical recommendations discuss the modern approaches to diagnostics and treatment of the diseases with the clinical picture of thyrotoxicosis.

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A total of 139 patients (278 eyes) presenting with Graves' disease (GD) and endocrine ophthalmopathy (EOP) were examined. The age of 35 men and 104 women ranged from 17 to 71 years. All of them were tested for the functional activity of the thyroid gland and underwent standard ophthalmologic examination; anti-TSH receptor antibodies were measured. Both the activity and severity of EOP were verified as recommended by the European Group on Graves' Orbitopathy (EUGOGO) It was shown that the frequency of detection of anti-TSH receptor antibodies and their titers in patients with GD and EOP depended on the activity of the intraorbital process and the severity of EOP manifestations. The functional state of the thyroid gland also influenced the level of anti-TSH receptor antibodies level during the active phase unlike that in the inactive phase. The in-depth analysis of the relationship between the level of anti-TSH receptor antibodies and clinical characteristics of either EOP (activity, severity, manifestation of selected clinical symptoms) or GD (thyrotoxicosis, euthyroidism, hypothyroidism) demonstrated the possibility to use these characteristics as the factors predicting the severity and outcome of EOP. Also, they may be helpful for the choice of a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of such patients.