Abstract
Background: To evaluate the longitudinal changes on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Methods: Retrospective study of patients with RVO treated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) for macular edema. Foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, vessel density (VD), vessel length density (VLD), and adjusted flow index (AFI) were calculated. The unaffected eye of each participant was used as a control. Results: Twelve RVO eyes were included, receiving 6 ± 3 anti-VEGF injections over a follow-up of 10.4 ± 3.1 months. Compared to fellow eyes, RVO eyes had lower VD and VLD at inclusion (p = 0.07 and p = 0.04) and last visit (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001). VD, AFI, and VLD did not change over time, while FAZ area increased in RVO eyes (+0.016 ± 0.024 mm2, p = 0.04). AFI correlated with duration of disease (r = 0.63, p = 0.02). Visual acuity was inversely related to VD and VLD over the follow-up. Conclusions: OCTA parameters remained stable with sustained anti-VEGF treatment in RVO, while changes in the FAZ area may suggest capillary remodeling after RVO.
Highlights
To evaluate the longitudinal changes on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in retinal vein occlusion (RVO)
Limitations of OCTA in the study of RVO eyes include the risk of masking artifacts by vitreal and intraretinal hemorrhages, intraretinal fluid, and exudates; the risk of moving artifacts in eyes with poor fixation; and the small field of view of currently available commercial OCTA systems, which confine imaging within the posterior pole
We found no changes in vessel density (VD) and vessel length density (VLD) with anti-vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) treatment over the follow-up period, in accordance with previous reports [18,43]
Summary
To evaluate the longitudinal changes on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in retinal vein occlusion (RVO). RVO treated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) for macular edema. The use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents currently represents the first-line of treatment for ME secondary to RVO [4,5,6,7]. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) offers a rapid and noninvasive alternative to image capillary nonperfusion; OCTA provides high resolution, three-dimensional visualization of the different layers of the retinal vasculature [9,10]. Limitations of OCTA in the study of RVO eyes include the risk of masking artifacts by vitreal and intraretinal hemorrhages, intraretinal fluid, and exudates; the risk of moving artifacts in eyes with poor fixation; and the small field of view of currently available commercial OCTA systems, which confine imaging within the posterior pole
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