Vessel Density in Glaucoma of Different Entities as Measured with Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Abstract

Purpose

To compare papillary and macular vessel density (VD), as measured by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), in eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and exfoliation glaucoma (XFG).

Methods

The papillary and macular VD of 40 eyes with POAG, 19 with NTG and 21 with XFG were examined using OCTA (AngioVue™). The VD was measured at two different layers of segmentation (optic nerve head: radial peripapillary capillary [RPC] and nerve head [NH]; macula: superficial [SL] and deep [DL] retinal vascular plexus) with a 4.5×4.5mm papillary and 6×6-mm macular scan. VD was calculated by an automated density measuring tool in the AngioVue™ software.

Results

There were no significant differences in the total value of the papillary, peripapillary and macular VD. A significantly higher VD could be measured for NTG compared to POAG, as well as for XFG in the inferior nasal peripapillary sector at RPC-segmentation and at the NH-level between NDG and XFG.

Conclusion

OCTA can detect a difference in VD in the nasal inferior peripapillary sector in NTG compared with POAG and XFG. These findings may help to improve the understanding of further pathophysiological mechanisms.

Keywords:

• OCT angiography
• glaucoma entities
• blood flow
• vessel density

Ethics Approval

This study was approved by the ethics committee of the Medical Association of Westfalen-Lippe, Germany (2016-148-f-S).

Acknowledgement

The contents of this paper were presented as a lecture at the Congress of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) on September 30, 2017, in Berlin.

Disclosure

CL reports lecturing for Optovue. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

There was no financial support for this study.