Evaluation of foveal avascular zone changes in patients with type 1 diabetes using optical coherence topography angiography

Abstract

Aim To evaluate vascular changes in the foveal avascular zone in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes by using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Patients and methods This cross-sectional study was performed in Benha University Hospital at Department of Ophthalmology. The patients were obtained from the Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic in Benha University Hospital. The study was conducted on 48 patients (96 eyes) divided into two groups: group A, 24 diabetic children with type 1 diabetes, group B, 24 healthy children of the same age and sex who met the inclusion criteria. The patients were collected from April 2022 to April 2023. The patients were photographed using the Optovue AngioVue OCTA System. Results Our results show that according to the foveal avascular zone it was slightly wider in type 1 diabetic cases with no clinically evident diabetes retinopathy (DR) than control. There were insignificant differences between the two groups as regards foveal density, but as regards foveal thickness, it was significantly lower in diabetic cases than in the control group. Conclusion We discovered that OCTA could consistently identify microvascular changes in the Deep and Superficial Capillary Plexus prior to the clinical indications’ onset of DR. In order to assess the OCTA potential for the screening of DR in children with T1DM, it is necessary to conduct numerous prospective studies.

Keywords

• diabetic retinopathy; foveal avascular zone; optical coherence tomography angiography