CORRELATION OF MULTIMODAL IMAGING IN SICKLE CELL RETINOPATHY

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Retinal Diseases

Background:

• Sickle cell retinopathy is a serious complication of sickle cell disease.
• Assessing the extent of vascular damage is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To correlate macular findings from spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) with quantitative ischemic index calculations from ultra-wide-field fluorescein angiography (UWFFA).
• To evaluate the utility of multimodal imaging in characterizing microvascular and structural alterations in sickle cell retinopathy.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective case series evaluating SDOCT, OCTA, and UWFFA images in patients with sickle cell retinopathy.
• Eyes were staged using the Goldberg classification.
• Macular thinning, macular vessel density, and peripheral ischemic index were quantified.

Main Results:

• Inner retinal atrophy was observed in 61% of eyes on SDOCT.
• Macular nonperfusion was present in 67% of eyes on OCTA.
• The ischemic index correlated significantly with hemoglobinopathy subtype, retinopathy stage, and retinal thinning.

Conclusions:

• Multimodal imaging provides a comprehensive assessment of microvascular and structural changes in sickle cell retinopathy.
• Ultra-wide-field imaging is valuable for evaluating peripheral nonperfusion and its correlation with disease severity.