Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate retinal hemodynamic response to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injection in diabetic macular edema (DME) eyes evaluated before and 1 month after the injection using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).
Methods :
We used a previously validated thresholding method based on the skeletonized deep capillary plexus (DCP) of each eye. We then analyzed the following parameters in the parafoveal area (3mm annulus with 1mm inner circle): Adjusted Flow Index (AFI), Vessel Density (VD), Skeletal Vessel Density (SVD) in addition to the Fovea Avascular Zone (FAZ), and Central Foveal Thickness (CFT). We assessed longitudinal changes using a generalized linear model correcting for image quality (SSI).
Results :
Our pilot study examined 6 eyes (4 female, age 51 ± 15.7 years). Compared to baseline, follow up imaging revealed significantly reduced superficial capillary plexus (SCP) VD (p=0.036), FAZ area (p=0.001) and CFT (p=0.001). Although not significant, overall trends showed increased AFI in the full retina and middle capillary plexus (MCP), contrasted with reduced AFI in the SCP and DCP slabs.
Conclusions :
FAZ and CFT decrease significantly after anti-VEGF injection, consistent with reduced DME. Only the VD in the SCP was significantly reduced on follow up. Ongoing active recruitment is underway to further confirm the results of this pilot study and will be reported at the ARVO 2021 Annual Meeting.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.