CORRELATION OF PHOTORECEPTOR INTEGRITY WITH RETINAL VESSEL DENSITY AND CHORIOCAPILLARIS IN EYES WITH DIABETIC RETINOPATHY.

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation of foveal photoreceptor integrity with the vessel density (VD) of the retina and choriocapillaris using swept source optical coherence tomography angiography in eyes with diabetic retinopathy.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed subjects having eyes with diabetic retinopathy, who underwent optical coherence tomography angiography using swept source optical coherence tomography (DRI OCT Triton; Topcon). We analyzed the area of the foveal avascular zone and VDs of the superficial capillary plexus, deep capillary plexus, and choriocapillaris. The length of the lateral extent of ellipsoid zone disruption, central subfield thickness, and subfoveal choroidal thickness were measured. Furthermore, we analyzed factors that were closely associated with the length of ellipsoid zone disruption.

RESULTS

A total of 159 eyes with diabetic retinopathy and 30 healthy control eyes were included in this study. In all eyes, the lengths of ellipsoid zone disruption were positively correlated with the foveal avascular zone area (P = 0.009). However, they were negatively correlated with the parafoveal VD of the superficial capillary plexus (P = 0.049), the foveal VD of deep capillary plexus (P = 0.003), and that of the choriocapillaris (P = 0.036).

CONCLUSION

The size of the foveal avascular zone and ischemia at the deep capillary plexus may play an important role in maintaining foveal photoreceptor integrity in eyes with diabetic retinopathy. Considering optical coherence tomography angiography artifacts, such as projection and shadowing, future studies are required to reveal the correlation between ellipsoid zone disruption and the VD of the choriocapillaris.