Macular perfusion normative data acquired with optical coherence tomography angiography in healthy four-year-old Caucasian children

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this cross-sectional study involving healthy emmetropic four-year-old Caucasian children was to provide a macular perfusion normative database acquired with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). One eye of each examinee underwent OCTA imaging. The following parameters were analyzed using AngioTool Image J software: vessels area (VA), vessels density (VD), total number of junctions (TNJ), junctions density (JD), total vessel length (TVL), average vessel length (AVL), total number of endpoints (TNEP), lacunarity (L), vessel diameter index (VDI), tortuosity (T) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ). Average central macular thickness (CMT) and average central macular volume (CMV) were measured. RESULT: Sixty-two eyes of 62 children of average age 50.4 ± 3.8 months were examined. VA, VD, and T increased from the inner towards the outer layers of the retina. The intermediate capillary plexus had the highest JD and TNEP and narrowest FAZ. Retinal sexual differentiation was supported with higher values of the retinal VA, VDI and TNEP, and chorioretinal VA, VDI and L in males. The choriocapillaris presented with the highest VD, AVL, and T and the lowest L and TNEP. CONCLUSION: The study provides the first detailed normative database of the macular vascular network in the youngest uniform cohort of emmetropic four-year-old children. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12886-021-02122-y.