In:
British Journal of Ophthalmology, BMJ
Abstract:
To characterise retinal microvascular alterations in the eyes of pregnant patients with anaemia (PA) and to compare the alterations with those in healthy controls (HC) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods This nested case‒control study included singleton PA and HC from the Eye Health in Pregnancy Study. Fovea avascular zone (FAZ) metrics, perfusion density (PD) in the superficial capillary plexus, deep capillary plexus and flow deficit (FD) density in the choriocapillaris (CC) were quantified using FIJI software. Linear regressions were conducted to evaluate the differences in OCTA metrics between PA and HC. Subgroup analyses were performed based on comparisons between PA diagnosed in the early or late trimester and HC. Results In total, 99 eyes of 99 PA and 184 eyes of 184 HC were analysed. PA had a significantly reduced FAZ perimeter ( β coefficient=−0.310, p 〈 0.001), area ( β coefficient=−0.121, p=0.001) and increased circularity ( β coefficient=0.037, p 〈 0.001) compared with HC. Furthermore, higher PD in the central ( β coefficient=0.327, p=0.001) and outer ( β coefficient=0.349, p=0.007) regions were observed in PA. PA diagnosed in the first trimester had more extensive central FD ( β coefficient=4.199, p=0.003) in the CC, indicating impaired perfusion in the CC. Conclusion It was found that anaemia during pregnancy was associated with macular microvascular abnormalities, which differed in PA as pregnancy progressed. The results suggest that quantitative OCTA metrics may be useful for risk evaluation before clinical diagnosis. Trial registration numbers 2021KYPJ098 and ChiCTR2100049850.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0007-1161
,
1468-2079
DOI:
10.1136/bjo-2022-321781
Language:
English
Publisher:
BMJ
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1482974-5