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Retinal Vascular Reactivity as Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Published on: March 26, 2020
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Retinal and choroidal microvascular changes during pregnancy detected with OCTA
Çisil Erkan Pota1, Kadri Cemil Apaydın1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
Summary
Pregnancy alters retinal and choroidal microvasculature, with changes in vessel density observed across trimesters. Optical coherence tomography angiography reveals significant microvascular adaptations during gestation compared to non-pregnant individuals.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Medical Imaging
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Pregnancy is associated with significant physiological changes.
- Understanding ocular microvascular adaptations during pregnancy is crucial for maternal and fetal health.
- Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) offers advanced insights into retinal and choroidal vasculature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively investigate changes in choroidal and retinal blood flow and thickness during pregnancy.
- To evaluate microvascular parameters using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) across all trimesters.
- To compare these parameters between pregnant individuals and a healthy non-pregnant control group.
Main Methods:
- Prospective case-control study including 41 pregnant and 45 non-pregnant individuals.
- Utilized OCT and OCTA to measure ocular perfusion pressure, retinal thickness, choroidal thickness, foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, and vessel density (VD) in superficial and deep capillary plexuses (SCP and DCP) and choriocapillaris (CC).
- Measurements were assessed across different trimesters of pregnancy.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in ocular perfusion pressure, retinal thickness, or choroidal thickness were found between pregnant and non-pregnant groups.
- The FAZ area increased with gestational progression and was smaller in the first trimester compared to controls.
- Significant changes in VD were observed, including a decrease in central SCP and DCP VD in the third trimester, an increase in CC VD throughout pregnancy, and elevated SCP and DCP VD in the second and third trimesters compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- This is the first prospective study to evaluate OCTA measurements throughout all trimesters of pregnancy.
- Significant retinal and choroidal microvascular changes occur during pregnancy.
- These findings highlight dynamic microvascular adaptations in the eye during gestation.
