Retinal Microvasculature in Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: Automated Quantitative Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Assessment

• Published in: Ophthalmic research Vol. 58; no. 3; p. 131
• Main Authors: Lupidi, Marco, Coscas, Gabriel, Coscas, Florence, Fiore, Tito, Spaccini, Elisa, Fruttini, Daniela, Cagini, Carlo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Capillaries - pathology; Diabetic Retinopathy - diagnosis; Diabetic Retinopathy - physiopathology; Female; Fluorescein Angiography - methods; Fundus Oculi; Humans; Macula Lutea - blood supply; Male; Middle Aged; Reproducibility of Results; Retinal Vessels - pathology; Retrospective Studies; Tomography, Optical Coherence - methods; Visual Acuity; Young Adult; Diabetic retinopathy; Multimodal imaging; Optical coherence tomography angiography; Amplitude decorrelation angiography; Diabetic maculopathy
• ISSN: 1423-0259
• DOI: 10.1159/000471885

To perform a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the foveal microvasculature in eyes with diabetic maculopathy using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A). Retrospective case series of 48 eyes with diabetic maculopathy and 47 healthy eyes evaluated by Spectralis OCT-A. Perifoveal arcade disruptions, linear vascular dilations, microaneurysms, intraretinal microvascular abnormalities and flow-void areas were qualitatively analyzed on OCT angiograms both for the superficial (SCP) and deep (DCP) capillary plexuses. A fully automated microstructural analysis of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) metrics, vascular and avascular surfaces was performed. Quantitative values from diabetic patients were compared with those of healthy subjects. A moderate agreement between SCP and DCP in terms of diabetes-induced vascular lesions in the qualitative assessment was shown. The comparative quantitative analysis between SCP and DCP in diabetic patients revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in terms of FAZ perimeter and FAZ surface. No statistically significant difference was shown in total vascular and avascular surfaces. A statistically significant difference between the diabetic and control groups was noticed both for SCP and DCP considering FAZ metrics and vascular surfaces. A qualitative and quantitative OCT-A approach on retinal vascular perfusion may offer an objective and reliable method for monitoring disease progression in diabetic retinopathy.