Optical coherence tomography angiography versus fluorescein angiography in the diagnosis of ischaemic diabetic maculopathy.

PURPOSE

To evaluate the efficacy of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography versus fluorescein angiography (FA) in terms of retinal vessel imaging in ischaemic diabetic maculopathy defined according to the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) classification.

METHODS

Twenty patients (31 eyes) with ischaemic diabetic maculopathy and 17 control subjects (27 eyes) were enrolled in this prospective study. Patients and control subjects underwent complete ophthalmic examination, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure, FA, Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) and OCT angiography. Fluorescein angiograms and OCT angiography images were graded according to the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) of the ETDRS group. Ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness was evaluated with FD-OCT.

RESULTS

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography images closely correlated with FA in terms of FAZ parameters. The correlation was strongest with OCT angiography deep imaging. The average GCC thickness was smaller in patients than in controls. Neither GCC parameters nor FAZ was correlated to BCVA.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the correlation between FA and OCT angiography in terms of FAZ parameters, the newer method can be considered a valid, reliable and easy-to-perform method with which to evaluate ischaemic diabetic maculopathy without contrast injection, and thus to visualize and quantify non-perfusion areas without risks of anaphylactic reactions.