Quantitative analysis of retinal vessel density and thickness changes in diabetes mellitus evaluated using optical coherence tomography angiography: a cross-sectional study

BMC Ophthalmology

Li Dong¹  Hong Zhang¹  Xinyue Li¹  Yu Yu¹  Yan Shi¹  Yanyan Zhang¹  Nan Zhang¹  Xueting Liu¹  Sujun Zhou¹  Yiheng Ding¹  Shuo Xu¹  Zhen Song¹  Xin Jin¹  Yingbin Wang¹ 

[1]Eye Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

关键词: Diabetic retinopathy;    OCTA;    Vessel density;    Retinal thickness;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12886-021-01988-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDiabetic retinopathy is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes; however, early changes in retinal microvessels are difficult to detect clinically, and a patient’s vision may have begun to deteriorate by the time a problem is identified. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is an innovative tool for observing capillaries in vivo. The aim of this study was to analyze retinal vessel density and thickness changes in patients with diabetes.MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational cross-sectional study. Between August 2018 and February 2019, we collected OCTA data from healthy participants and diabetics from the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University. Analyzed their retinal vessel density and thickness changes.ResultsA total of 97 diabetic patients with diabetes at different severity stages of diabetic retinopathy and 85 controls were involved in the experiment. Diabetic patients exhibited significantly lower retinal VD (particularly in the deep vascular complexes), thickening of the neurosensory retina, and thinning of the retinal pigment epithelium compared with controls. In the control group, nondiabetic retinopathy group and mild diabetic retinopathy group, superficial VD was significantly correlated with retinal thickness (r = 0.3886, P < 0.0001; r = 0.3276, P = 0.0019; r = 0.4614, P = 0.0024, respectively).ConclusionsPatients with diabetes exhibit ischemia of the retinal capillaries and morphologic changes in vivo prior to vision loss. Therefore, OCTA may be useful as a quantitative method for the early detection of diabetic retinopathy.

【 授权许可】

CC BY