Correlations Between Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Parameters and the Visual Acuity in Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between different optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) parameters and the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty eyes of 60 participants were included in this prospective study: 40 diabetic patients [20 with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR group), 20 with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR group)] and 20 age- and gender-matched normal healthy subjects (control group). After full ophthalmological examination and fundus fluorescein angiography, OCTA was performed for all participants. Quantitative OCTA parameters, such as the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, the superficial capillary plexus vessel density (%) (SCP-VD) and the deep capillary plexus vessel density (%) (DCP-VD) in, whole and parafoveal areas were measured. Correlations between BCVA and OCTA parameters were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between groups regarding age, gender, refraction, macular thickness or intraocular pressure. The median (IQR) FAZ area was 0.42 (0.39–0.46) mm(2) in the NPDR group, 0.54 (0.45–0.65) mm(2) in the PDR group and 0.24 (0.21–0.26) mm(2) in the control group (P<0.001). The FAZ area increased with increasing severity of DR. SCP-VD and DCP-VD showed significant differences between groups (P<0.001). Vessel density (VD) was decreased in both DCP and SCP as DR progressed. There was a significant positive correlation between BCVA (LogMAR) and FAZ area. There were significant negative correlations between BCVA (LogMAR) and VD in both SCP and DCP. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that SCP-VD in the whole area and DCP-VD in the parafoveal area were the best predictive factors for BCVA in the NPDR and PDR groups. CONCLUSION: With progression of DR, the VD decreased and the FAZ area increased, and both parameters were correlated with poor visual acuity. OCTA is a non-invasive tool which can be used to detect diabetic macular ischemia and help in the prediction of visual prognosis.