Retinal vessel architecture in retinopathy of prematurity and healthy controls using swept‐source optical coherence tomography angiography

PURPOSE: To determine microvascular changes in children with a history of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and in a control group of full‐term children. METHODS: In a cross‐sectional study, 30 eyes of 15 children aged 6–8 years with a history of ROP were evaluated with swept‐source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS‐OCTA). Twenty‐eight eyes of 22 age‐matched full‐term children served as a healthy control group. The foveal avascular zone (FAZ), vessel density (VD) and choroidal vascular flow area (VFA) were evaluated on OCTA and correlated with central retinal thickness (CRT), visual acuity (VA), birth weight (BW), gestational age (GA) and ROP stages. RESULTS: Twenty‐two eyes of 14 children with a history of ROP (stage 1–3) and 25 eyes of 19 full‐term children were available for evaluation. In the ROP group, the gestational age was 27 ± 2 weeks and birth weight was 781 ± 164 g. In the ROP group, CRT was higher in the central ETDRS segment (mean difference [95% CI]: 32.8 µm [18.7; 47.0], p = 0.0002) compared to the controls. Smaller mean FAZ area (−0.12 [−0.19; −0.04], p = 0.004) and perimeter (−662 [−1228; −96], p = 0.03) was found in comparison to the control group. An oval shape of the FAZ was observed among patients with a history of ROP. The mean central VD of the superficial plexus was 28 ± 8/23 ± 8% and of the deep plexus 7 ± 7/3 ± 5% (ROP group/control group; p > 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found regarding the choroidal VFA. Only weak correlation of FAZ and VD with function was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Swept‐source optical coherence tomography angiography imaging revealed significant microvascular anomalies in children with a history of ROP indicating disturbance of early morphological development of the central retina.