OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY FEATURES OF BRANCH RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION.

PURPOSE: Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a novel technology that uses motion contrast instead of dye to generate angiographic images. Using several modalities of OCTA, the authors describe and compare changes observed in branch retinal vein occlusion.

METHODS

A case series of three patients with OCTA imaging.

RESULTS

Despite presenting at different time frames, the authors found common imaging findings consisting of vascular hypoperfusion, increased tortuosity, and telangiectasia in all their cases. Furthermore, macular edema and intraretinal fluid were noted on the en-face angiograms. The extent of vascular and structural alterations could clearly be delineated in superficial and deep retinal networks. However, fine capillary alterations were better appreciated on smaller-size scans.

CONCLUSION

With the ability to noninvasively visualize vascular flow, OCTA could serve as a new diagnostic tool for current ophthalmic research and clinical practice. Such findings can help supplement other imaging modalities in establishing a diagnosis and monitoring disease progression over time. This would potentially be useful in regard to ischemic processes such as branch retinal vein occlusion and diseases affecting different layers of the retinal vasculature.