Abstract
Purpose :
To quantify flow deficits (FDs) in the submacular choriocapillaris (CC) in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA).
Methods :
Diabetic patients with different stages of DR and normal subjects were imaged with SS-OCTA instrument (PLEX Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, California, USA) using the 6x6-mm macular scan pattern. The CC images were generated using previously published and validated algorithms. The percentage of FDs (FD%) and the average size of FDs were measured in a 5-mm-diameter circular region centered on the fovea in CC.
Results :
Forty-five eyes from 45 patients with different stages of DR and 27 eyes from 27 age-matched nondiabetic controls were enrolled in this study. Overall, the CC FD% in patients with DR was 1.4-fold greater than that in control subjects (12.34% ± 4.14% vs 8.82% ± 2.61%, P < 0.001); the mean FD size was 1.4-fold larger in patients with DR than that in control subjects (2151.3 ± 650.8 µm2 vs 1574.4 ± 255.0 µm2, P < 0.001). No significant difference in FD% or mean FD size was observed between patients with nonproliferative DR and patients with proliferative DR in the submacular CC (P = 1.000 and P = 1.000, respectively).
Conclusions :
Submacular CC perfusion is significantly decreased in patients with DR compared with age-matched nondiabetic controls. CC visualization and quantification using SS-OCTA may help improve the current understanding of pathogenesis, progression, and treatment response of diabetic eye disease.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.