Retinal vascular indices in Adult-onset foveomacular vitelliform dystrophy, Age-related macular degeneration and healthy eyes: An OCT-angiography study

Abstract

Purpose : To compare the retinal vascular indices among patients with adult-onset foveomacular vitelliform dystrophy (AOFVD) and patients with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (iAMD) and age-matched healthy controls, using widefield swept source optical coherence tomography angiography (WSS-OCTA).

Methods : Retrospective, cross sectional study. Patients with AOFVD or with iAMD (based on clinical exam) and without other retinal or systemic diseases and healthy controls were invited to participate. Included participants underwent Swept Source-OCT Angiography (OCT-A) with Plex Elite 9000 (Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc., Dublin, CA, USA), 12 mm x12 mm scan, centered on the macula; and spectral domain OCT (Heidelberg, Spectralis). The 12 mm x 12 mm OCT-A volume of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and the deep capillary plexus (DCP) vessels were then exported, and projection artifacts were removed with the commercially available software. Vessel area density (VAD), vessel skeletonized density (VSD), vessel diameter Index (VDI), vessel perimeter index (VPI) and vessel complexity Index (VCI) were calculated using ImageJ software (Bethesda, MD). Vessel indices of the SCP and DCP were compared between patients with AOFVD to patients with iAMD and controls. Multilevel mixed models were used to account for the inclusion of two eyes of some patients.

Results : We included 22 eyes with AOFVD (11 patients), 86 eyes with iAMD (55 patients) and 62 healthy age-matched control eyes (33 patients). Compared to iAMD patients, AOFVD patients had a significantly higher VCI of the SCP (b=197921, p=0.005). However, no differences were found for VAD, VSD, VDI, and VPI of the SCP. In the DCP, there were significant reductions of VAD (b=-4.19, p=0), VSD (b=-1.36, p=0), VDI (b=-0.034, p=0.04), and VPI (b=-1.85, p=0) in AOFVD compared to iAMD. Compared to control, the DCP of AOFVD was significantly associated with only VSD (p=0.049) reductions, with no other significant correlations identified.

Conclusions : Patients with AOFVD have a significantly higher VCI in the SCP compared to patients with iAMD, as well as lower vascular densities in the DCP. OCT angiography might be useful in differentiation between these entities.

This is a 2020 Imaging in the Eye Conference abstract.