Preliminary Report on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Biomarkers in Non-Responders and Responders to Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Injection for Diabetic Macular Oedema

• Published in: Diagnostics Vol. 13; no. 10; p. 1735
• Main Authors: Chouhan, Sanjana, Kalluri Bharat, Rekha, Surya, Janani, Mohan, Sashwanthi, Balaji, Janarthanam, Viekash, V., Lakshminarayanan, Vasudevan, Raman, Rajiv
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.05.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Algorithms; Angiography; anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injection; Biological markers; Biomarkers; Blood vessels; Care and treatment; Diabetes; diabetic macular oedema (DME); diabetic macular oedema (DME); optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA); biomarkers; anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injection; Diabetic retinopathy; Dropsy; Edema; Eye; Medical examination; Medical imaging; Medicine (General); Morphology; optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA); R5-920; Software; Tomography; Type 2 diabetes; Vascular endothelial growth factor; United States > US; optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA); anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injection; biomarkers; diabetic macular oedema (DME)
• ISSN: 2075-4418; 2075-4418
• DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13101735

Purpose: To identify optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) biomarkers in patients who were treated for diabetic macular oedema (DME) with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections and compare the OCTA parameters between responders and non-responders. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 61 eyes with DME who received at least one intravitreal anti-VEGF injection was included between July 2017 and October 2020. The subjects underwent a comprehensive eye examination followed by an OCTA examination before and after intravitreal anti-VEGF injection. Demographic data, visual acuity, and OCTA parameters were documented, and further analysis was performed pre- and post-intravitreal anti-VEGF injection.Results: Out of 61 eyes which underwent intravitreal anti-VEGF injection for diabetic macular oedema, 30 were responders (group 1) and 31 were non-responders (group 2). We found that the responders (group 1) had a higher vessel density in the outer ring that was statistically significant (p = 0.022), and higher perfusion density was noted in the outer ring (p = 0.012) and full ring (p = 0.044) at levels of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP). We also observed a lower vessel diameter index in the deep capillary plexus (DCP) in responders when compared to non-responders (p < 0.00). Conclusion: The evaluation of SCP in OCTA in addition to DCP can result in a better prediction of treatment response and early management in diabetic macular oedema.