Superficial and deep retinal foveal avascular zone OCT‐A findings of non‐infectious anterior and posterior uveitis compared to healthy controls

Abstract

PurposeTo compare the superficial (FAZ‐S) and deep retinal foveal avascular zones (FAZ‐D) of non‐infectious anterior and posterior uveitis and healthy controls, using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).MethodsOCTA was performed on a total of 74 eyes, 34 eyes suffering from non‐infectious posterior uveitis (26 eyes without macular edema (post‐CME), 8 eyes with macular edema (post+CME)), 11 eyes with non‐infectious anterior uveitis (6 eyes without macular edema (ant‐CME) and 5 eyes with macular edema (ant+CME). The control group included a group of 29 healthy eyes. The foveal avascular zones of the superficial (FAZ‐S) and deep (FAZ‐D) retinal vascular plexus were measured in mm2 via the software's ruler tool on a Heidelberg HRA2 Spectralis OCTA device (Germany). For statistical evaluation ANOVA‐based linear mixed‐effects models were performed with SPSS®.ResultsEyes suffering from non‐infectious posterior uveitis presented with significantly higher FAZ‐D values when compared to healthy controls both, in the presence or absence of macular edema (p<0.001, post‐CME subgroup and post+CME subgroups). In the presence of macular edema eyes presenting with anterior uveitis (ant+CME) also showed significantly higher FAZ‐S (p=0.03) and FAZ‐D (p<0.001) values when compared to healthy controls. Meanwhile, in the absence of macular edema eyes with anterior uveitis cannot be distinguished from controls (p>0.6).ConclusionsBased on our preliminary results, the deep retinal foveal avascular zone seems to be enlarged in eyes presenting with non‐infectious posterior uveitis, both in the presence or absence of macular edema. This finding could be used as a clinical marker in the future.