Choriocapillary Flow Correlation with Axial Length in High Myopia – An Angiography Study with Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

Abstract Purpose To investigate parameters of retinal and choroidal microcirculation quantitatively with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in high myopic children, and to explore potential correlations with age, axial length (AL), spherical equivalent (SE), and central retinal thickness (CRT). Methods En face angiograms were generated with an OCTA device and evaluated with automated density and flow analyzer algorithms. Perfusion parameters were correlated with age, AL, SE, and CRT using Spearmanʼs rank correlation analysis. Repeatability and reproducibility of perfusion parameter measurements were calculated in a high myopic cohort. Results Repeatability and reproducibility of OCTA measurements were good, ranging from 3.6 – 6.5%. Strong positive correlation was identified between age and CRT (rho = 0.673, p = 0.00) as well as between AL and SE (rho = 0.844, p = 0.00). There was a strong negative correlation between AL and choriocapillary flow density (CCFD) (rho = − 0.612, p = 0.00), and a moderate negative correlation between age and superficial parafoveal retinal vessel density (SPRVD) as well as CCFD (rho = − 0.497, p = 0.013 and rho = − 0.483, p = 0.023, respectively). Conclusion OCTA appears to be a reliable tool for the quantitative investigation of retinal and choroidal microcirculation in a high myopic pediatric cohort. CCFD reduction was associated with increasing AL in this cohort.