Diagnostic and predictive value of resistive / pulsatility indices of ophthalmic artery and common carotid artery for the development of diabetic retinopathy.

Abstract

Ophthalmic artery resistive index (OA RI) was a controversial parameter to show hemodynamic changes due to diabetic retinopathy (DRP). To investigate the diagnostic and predictive value of resistive and pulsatility index (RI and PI, respectively) of OA and common carotid artery (CCA) for the development of DRP. A total of 60 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 (study group) and 30 healthy participants (control group) were evaluated between January and June 2021 by Doppler ultrasonography (DUS). RI and PI values were compared between groups with a Student's t-test. Cutoff value, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated for the significant variables with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. In total, there were 20 (22.2%) patients with DM without DRP (DMwoRP), 20 (22.2%) patients in the non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy group (NPDRP), and 20 (22.2%) patients in the proliferative diabetic retinopathy group (PDRP). The mean of CCA RI and OA RI in the PDRP group was significantly higher than in the other three groups (P < 0.001). The mean of CCA RI and OA RI was significantly higher in the PDRP group than in the NPDRP group, and in the NPDRP group compared to the DMwoRP group. CCA RI and OA RI showed a significantly high correlation (r = 0.849; P < 0.001). Sensitivity was 95% and specificity was 100% for the diagnosis of PDRP for the 0.82 cutoff value of OA RI (AUR = 0.999, 95% confidence interval for AUC = 0.997-0.1000; P < 0.001). The OA RI accurately reflects DRP-induced orbital blood flow changes and is a predictive index for DRP prognosis.