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Correlation of flow density, as measured using optical coherence tomography angiography, with structural and functional parameters in glaucoma patients

  • Glaucoma
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the correlation between flow density, as measured by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), and structural and functional parameters in patients with open-angle glaucoma.

Methods

Thirty-four eyes of 34 patients with open-angle glaucoma and 35 eyes of 35 healthy subjects were prospectively included in this study. OCTA was performed using RTVue XR Avanti with AngioVue. The macula was imaged with a 3 × 3 mm scan and the optic nerve head (ONH) with a 4.5 × 4.5 mm scan. Visual field parameters [mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation (PSD) and visual field index (VFI)], Bruch’s membrane opening minimal rim width (BMO-MRW), retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and the stereometric parameters rim area, cup/disc area (HRT III, Heidelberg Retina Tomograph, Heidelberg Engineering) were tested for correlation with flow density data.

Results

The flow density (whole en face) in the retinal OCT angiograms (superficial: p = 0.01; deep: p = 0.005), in the radial peripapillary capillary network (p < 0.001) and in the OCT angiograms of the optic nerve head (p = 0.004) were significantly lower in the glaucoma group when compared with the control group. The flow density in the RPC network correlated significantly with all functional and structural parameters tested. The strongest correlation was found between the RPC flow density (inside disc) and the BMO-MRW (Spearman’s correlation coefficient = 0.912, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Glaucoma patients showed a reduced ONH and macular perfusion when compared with healthy controls. The flow density as measured by OCTA correlated with structural damage and visual field loss in glaucoma patients. Non-invasive quantitative analyses of flow density using OCTA provide a new parameter describing a different aspect of glaucoma, which could be useful in clinical practice.

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Funding

No funding was received for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Muenster Medical Center, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Building D15, 48149, Muenster, Germany

    Maged Alnawaiseh, Larissa Lahme, Viktoria Müller & Nicole Eter

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str, 11, Würzburg, Germany

    André Rosentreter

Authors
  1. Maged Alnawaiseh
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  2. Larissa Lahme
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  3. Viktoria Müller
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  4. André Rosentreter
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  5. Nicole Eter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maged Alnawaiseh.

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Conflict of interest

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge, or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Ethical approval

Participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Alnawaiseh, M., Lahme, L., Müller, V. et al. Correlation of flow density, as measured using optical coherence tomography angiography, with structural and functional parameters in glaucoma patients. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 256, 589–597 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-017-3865-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-017-3865-9

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