Optical coherence tomography angiography findings of retinal vascular structures in children with celiac disease.

PURPOSE: To investigate the vasculature of the retina and choroid in children with celiac disease using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

METHODS

A total of 60 children with celiac disease and 71 healthy controls were included in this study. All participants underwent comprehensive ophthalmologic examination and OCTA imaging. The vascular structures and the vascular density (VD) in the superficial and deep retinal vascular zones, the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) and foveal density were automatically determined using the software 3 × 3 OCTA and AngioAnalytics. Choroid thickness was calculated manually by retinal specialists.

RESULTS

No statistically significant difference in VD was found between subjects and controls. The FAZ was larger in the celiac group than in controls (0.306 ± 0.12 mm2 vs 0.287 ± 0.11 mm2), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.383). Subfoveal choroid thickness was thinner in the celiac group (309.9 ± 76.97 μm) than in the control group (328 ± 68.51 μm), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.157)

CONCLUSIONS

No statistically significant differences in VD, mean FAZ or mean subfoveal choroidal thickness were found in children with CD compared to controls.