Abstract
Purpose :
The findings in ophthalmologic examination in diabetic patients are not enough to determine if there are changes in the retinal circulation when no clinically detectable retinopathy is found. Such subclinical changes in the circulation of the retina could be evidenced by the study of Swept Source OCT angiography, which could be considered as a precursor of retinal ischemia damage.
Methods :
The researchers recruited patients from the department of General Ophthalmology at the Institute of Ophthalmology "Fundación Conde de Valenciana I.A.P." at Mexico City with a diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus without clinical data of diabetic retinopathy as well as a control group of healthy patients. A clinical history was made with a specific focus on knowing data about the metabolic control carried out by the patient with respect to diabetes mellitus. OCT angiography was performed with DRI OCT Triton equipment, Swept source OCT (TOPCON Corporation) with 6X6mm cuts.
Image analysis was performed with the ImageJ software (http://www.rsb.info.nih.gov) to calculate the area of the fovea free of blood vessels and the density of the capillary network in the superficial and deep plexus in the 6 mm central fovea.
Results :
The area of the foveal avascular zone in the superficial plexus was 0.25 ± 0.05 mm2 in healthy patients (n = 26) and 0.32 ± 0.08 mm2 in diabetic patients (n = 27), showing a significant increase in this group (P <0.01). Similarly, in the deep plexus an increase was observed in the area of the foveal avascular area in diabetic patients when compared to the control group (P <0.01).
Conclusions :
This study uphold that capillary non perfusion is present in diabetic patients without retinopathy which becomes a premature tool for the evaluation and objective measurement of the vascular changes.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.