Preclinical ocular features in patients with Behçet's disease detected by optical coherence tomography angiography

The aim of this study was to evaluate the perifoveal and peripapillary microvascular structure in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) without clinically ocular involvement.

Fifty-six eyes of 28 patients with Behçet's disease without clinically ocular involvement and 50 age-matched healthy eyes were included in this prospective study. Vessel densities (VD) of macula and optic nerve head, foveal avascular zone (FAZ), choroid capillary plexus (CCP) flow area, perifoveal capillary nonperfusion, capillary dilatation and/or telangiectasia and perifoveal capillary arcade disruption were analyzed with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). The relationship between duration of disease and vessel densities was also evaluated.

The FAZ was significantly higher in the BD group (p < 0.001). VD of the foveal and parafoveal region in deep capillary plexus (DCP) were significantly lower in the BD group than in the control group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). Total disc, peripapillary and inside-disc VD were significantly lower in BD group (p = 0.001, p = 0.002, p = 0.004). Perifoveal morphological changes in DCP were significantly higher in nonocular BD (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001). There was a mild negative correlation between disease duration and whole VD in DCP, total disc VD, peripapillary VD was determined (For whole VD in DCP, r = -0.400, p = 0.035; for total disc VD r = -0.396, p = 0.037; for peripapillary VD r = -0.442, p = 0.018).

Perifoveal and peripapillary microvascular changes that can be detected by OCTA may occur in Behçet's patients without clinically ocular involvement.