Optical coherence tomography angiography parameters Changes after cataract surgery.
Ramin Nourinia1 , kiana hassanpour2 , parisa nikzad2 *, ali kiani2
- ophthalmic research center, shahid beheshti university of medical sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Ophthalmic research center, shahid beheshti university of medical sciences, tehran,Iran
Abstract: To evaluate the changes of macular blood delivery after cataract surgery through optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A)
Methods: In this prospective observational case series, 50 patients who underwent uneventful cataract surgery between June 2018 and September 2019 were included. Patients with intraocular inflammation, history of previous intraocular surgery, or any ocular pathology except than cataract were excluded from the study. OCT-A images and complete ocular examinations were performed at baseline, 1 and 3 months postoperatively.The changes in OCT-A parameters including foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, vessel density (VD) of superficial and deep plexus, and central macular thickness were assessed before and after cataract surgery. Cataract grading, intraocular inflammation and duration of surgery were adjusted using multivariate regression analysis.
Results: Fifteen patients were included in the present study. Twenty-one patients (42%) were male. The average age of the patients ± SD was 66.96 ± 7.76 years (Range, 50, 83). FAZ was significantly reduced from 0.36 ± 0.13 mm2 at baseline to 0.32 ± 0.12 mm2 at month 1 (P<0.001) and this reduction continued until month 3 while the reduction did not reach the significance level. CMT at the fovea was significantly increased from 240.5 ± 21.99 microns at baseline to 253.1 ± 23.2 microns at month 1 (P<0.001) and the increase significantly continued and reached 259.5 ± 22.6 microns at month 3 (P<0.001). Accordingly, FAZ area significantly reduced one month postoperatively. In regression analysis, CMT changes positively correlated with cataract grading. FAZ area negatively correlated with intraocular inflammation on the first postoperative day. In the superficial layer, vessel density of the fovea, parafovea, and whole image significantly increased from 13.9 ± 6.8, 43.7 ± 4.7, and 43.2 ± 4.4 at baseline to 18.4 ± 7.9, 45.7 ± 4.9, and 44.9 ± 4.5 at month 1. The increase in the vessel density of the deep layer was similar to the superficial layer.
Conclusion: The present study shows that CMT, and vessel density of macula significantly increase after uneventful cataract surgery while the FAZ area reduces. Postoperative inflammation could be the possible explanation of the findings of the present study.
