Can optical coherence tomography angiography be a first line ophthalmological evaluation in patients with Behçet's disease?

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether early ocular findings can be demonstrated with optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with Behçet's disease. Patients and methods: Thirty-seven eyes of 22 patients with Behçet's disease with ocular involvement, 48 eyes of 26 Behçet patients without any ocular involvement, and 44 eyes of 22 healthy controls were included, for a total of 70 patients (39 males, 31 females; mean age: 42.3±11.7 years; range, 18 to 65 years), in the cross-sectional study conducted between September 2019 and April 2020. The parameters analyzed were the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), central macular thickness, total deep capillary plexus vessel density (DCPVD), parafoveal deep capillary plexus vessel density (PaDCPVD), total superficial capillary plexus vessel density (SCPVD), and parafoveal superficial capillary plexus vessel density (PaSCPVD). Results: Total DCPVD, total SCPVD, PaDCPVD, and PaSCPVD were found to be low in the ocular involvement group compared to the others, and the FAZ area was larger compared to the control group. Capillary plexus densities were positively correlated with the best-corrected visual acuity and negatively correlated with disease duration. No statistically significant difference was found between patients with Behçet without ocular involvement and the control group in terms of the FAZ area, DCPVD, PaDCPVD, SCPVD, and PaSCPVD. Conclusion: Optical coherence tomography angiography demonstrated decreased vascularity in Behçet patients with ocular involvement; however, it revealed no microvascular differences between patients with Behçet's disease who do not have ocular involvement and the control group.

Utilizing shear wave elastography for the evaluation of optical nerve involvement in Behçet's disease.

In this study, we investigated the elasticity of the optic nerve using shear wave elastography (SWE) in patients with Behçet's Disease (BD) and compare findings with a healthy control group. Optic nerve measurements of 40 eyes in the BD group and 38 eyes in the control group were performed by SWE (SWE-right and SWE-left). The mean age of the individuals in the BD group was higher than controls (p = 0.022). The SWE measurement results in the right eye were significantly higher in the BD group (p = 0.005), while SWE-left values were similar in the two groups (p = 0.206). There was a moderate positive correlation between age and SWE-right (r = 0.347, p = 0.031), there was no correlation between SWE-left and age (p = 0.756). It was found that SWE-right had significant value in distinguishing between BD and healthy controls (sensitivity: 75%, specificity: 78.9%; p = 0.005); whereas, SWE-left did not (p = 0.206). In the multiple logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for age and sex, the performance of SWE-right to distinguish BD patients from controls was found to remain significant (OR: 15.045, 95% CI: 2.33-97.120, p = 0.004). Due to the fact that only SWE-right values appear to have significant discriminatory performance for BD, it is feasible to suggest that the frequency and severity of BD involvement are associated with SWE-related changes in the optic nerve. This finding indicates the need for more comprehensive studies evaluating optic nerve SWE values in this context.

Comparison of quantitative measurement of macular vessel density before and after inferior oblique muscle-weakening surgery: An optical coherence tomography angiography study.

PURPOSE: To investigate hemodynamic changes in retinal and choroidal vasculature after surgical inferior oblique (IO) weakening through optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: The medical records of patients who underwent unilateral IO-weakening surgery at a single institution were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who had OCTA measurements before surgery and on postoperative days 7 and 30 were included. Vessel density was determined for the superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), the choriocapillaris (CCP) and the foveal avascular zone (FAZ). RESULTS: The study included 72 eyes of 36 patients. Fellow eyes were used as a control group. The preoperative and postoperative week 1 and month 1 mean central vessel densities of the SCP were 20.48% ± 3.52%, 20.68% ± 3.83%, and 23.56% ± 5.65%, respectively, in the operated eye; those of the DCP were 16.72% ± 3.33%, 16.08% ± 4.65%, and 20.85% ± 7.09%, respectively. The mean FAZ areas were 341.29 ± 88.04 µm2, 341.30 ± 98.25 µm2, and 316.02 ± 74.61 µm2, respectively. We detected no significant changes in SCP, DCP, and FAZ in the postoperative period. The mean central vessel density of the CCP increased significantly from the preoperative level of 54.06% ± 2.86% to 55.55% ± 2.63% at postoperative week 1, but there was no significant difference between baseline and postoperative month 1 (P = 0.001 and P = 0.515, resp.). CONCLUSIONS: IO muscle surgery does not seem to cause alterations in retinal hemodynamics, although it can transiently increase the central vessel density of the CCP during the early postoperative period.