Detection of retinal microvascular changes in von Hippel-Lindau disease using optical coherence tomography angiography

PURPOSE: Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a hereditary disorder that can lead to ophthalmic manifestations, including retinal capillary hemangioma (RCH). The diagnosis of RCH is often guided by wide-field fluorescein angiography. In some cases, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) serves as a non-invasive alternative to FA. Herein, we used OCT-A to examine the macular microvasculature in patients with VHL disease. SUBJECTS: Subjects were selected from patients with a diagnosis of VHL. The control group included eyes without retinal diagnosis from patients with an episode of unilateral retinal detachment or trauma and age ≤ 50 years old. METHODS: Subjects were scanned on the Optovue RTVue-XR device to acquire 3mm x 3mm OCT-A images of the superficial (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP). SCP and DCP vessel density (VD) were calculated after the images were binarized. Furthermore, for subjects with RCH, each OCT-A image was divided equally into four quadrants. SCP and DCP VD of quadrants with RCH were compared to those without RCH. T-tests were performed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: 67 eyes with a history of VHL disease were included as study subjects, while 16 eyes were included as controls. Significant increases in VD were found in patients with VHL disease for both the SCP (p = 0.0441) and DCP (p = 0.0344). When comparing quadrants with associated RCH development to those without, we found no significant difference in SCP VD (p = 0.160) or DCP VD (p = 0.484). CONCLUSIONS: OCT-A can detect changes in the retinal microvasculature in the macula of patients with VHL disease. OCT-A imaging may be an additional tool for screening and early detection of patients at risk of developing ocular complications of VHL disease. Future studies should explore subtle progression on OCT-A associated with the pathogenesis and development of RCH, particularly with larger scan patterns.