Multimodal Imaging in Birdshot Retinochoroiditis.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Imaging
• Vascular Biology

Background:

• Birdshot Retinochoroiditis (BSRC) is a posterior uveitis with characteristic retinal and choroidal inflammatory findings.
• Understanding the microvascular changes in BSRC is crucial for disease management and monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize retinal vascular alterations in Birdshot Retinochoroiditis (BSRC) using advanced multimodal imaging.
• To correlate these vascular changes with disease activity and duration.

Main Methods:

• A single-center study involving 32 subjects (64 eyes) with BSRC.
• Multimodal imaging included spectral domain optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, fundus autofluorescence, and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).
• Eyes were classified based on disease activity and duration.

Main Results:

• OCTA identified capillary loops (58%), telangiectatic vessels (44%), increased intercapillary spaces (52%), altered vascular architecture (53%), and C-scan rarefaction (63%).
• Significantly, increased C-scan rarefaction and altered vascular architecture in superficial and deep capillary layers correlated with disease activity (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) provides novel insights into retinal vascular changes in BSRC.
• OCTA enhances multimodal imaging for visualizing retinal vascular layers, potentially aiding in diagnosing disease severity and progression.