Abstract
Purpose :
We performed a prospective observational diagnostic study to investigate the relevance of OCT angiography imaging in uveitis.
Methods :
50 patients with uveitis and 30 healthy controls were imaged with swept-source OCT angiography (OCTA; PLEX Elite 9000, Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany), and, where indicated, with fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography (FA and ICGA), respectively). Retinal, choriocapillary and choroidal microvascular layers on OCTA were analyzed for alterations in perfusion associated with inflammatory activity and compared with FA and ICGA.
Results :
OCTA is more sensitive than FA for alterations of capillary perfusion and allows detailed analysis of perfusion also in areas of acute inflammatory activity associated with dye-leakage on FA. In cases of active and inactive macular edema due to uveitis perifoveal capillary dropout and destruction of the perifoveal capillary arcade was present. Choriocapillary hypo- and or nonperfusion on OCTA was evident in uveitis intermedia and posterior and associated with inflammatory activity.
Conclusions :
Our results indicate that OCTA may be useful in monitoring retinal and choroidal perfusion and vascular changes as biomarkers of disease activity. Choriocapillary hypoperfusion on OCTA cannot be assessed using conventional angiography modalities and may provide additional insight into patho-etiology and prognosis in cases of intermediate and posterior uveitis. Further longitudinal observation will determine the prognostic value of these findings.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.