Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) Characteristics of Acute Retinal Arterial Occlusion: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: To systematically review the evidence regarding the characteristics of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) in acute retinal arterial occlusion (RAO), with a particular focus on vascular alterations across the superficial and deep capillary plexuses, choroid, and peripapillary regions.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search was performed across PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Database up to April 2025. The search terms included "Optical coherence tomography angiography," "OCTA," "Retinal arterial occlusion," "Central retinal artery occlusion," and "Branch retinal artery occlusion." Studies were included if they evaluated the role of OCTA in diagnosing or assessing acute RAO. Case reports, conference abstracts, and non-English articles were excluded. Two reviewers independently conducted the study selection and data extraction. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool.

Results

The initial search yielded 457 articles, from which 10 studies were ultimately included in the final analysis after a rigorous screening process excluding duplicates, non-English publications, and ineligible articles based on title, abstract, or full-text review. The included studies consistently demonstrated that OCTA is a valuable, noninvasive modality for evaluating microvascular changes in RAO. Key OCTA findings in acute RAO include significant perfusion deficits and reduced vessel density in both the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP). Several studies noted more pronounced involvement of the SCP compared to the DCP. OCTA parameters, such as vessel density in the macular region, have been found to correlate with visual acuity, suggesting a prognostic value. While findings regarding the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) were mixed, the peripapillary area frequently showed reduced vessel density.

Conclusion

Acute RAO is an ocular emergency that causes microvascular ischemic changes detectable by OCTA. This review establishes OCTA as a significant noninvasive tool for diagnosing, monitoring, and prognosticating RAO. It effectively visualizes perfusion deficits that correlate with clinical outcomes. However, limitations such as susceptibility to motion artifacts, segmentation errors, and the lack of standardized normative data must be considered. Future standardization of OCTA protocols and analysis is essential to enhance its clinical application in managing RAO.