Early Diabetic Retinopathy Evaluation With OCTA: A Study on Vascular Branching and Fragmentation

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the branching patterns and vascular fragmentation features in preclinical and early diabetic retinopathy (DR) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

OCTA metrics, including branch node number (BNN), branch node density (BND), end point number (EPN), end point density (EPD), fragmented vessel segment count (FVSC), and fragmented vascular length ratio (FVLR), were measured in foveal and parafoveal regions within superficial and deep vascular plexus (SVP and DVP) in the retina.

Compared to healthy control (HCs), both BNN and BND exhibited a significant decrease in individuals with mild DR across both retinal layers, and also in diabetes mellitus without DR (no DR) within DVP. EPD showed a significant increase in mild DR cases compared to HCs, except for the foveal region in SVP; however, EPN did not demonstrate a significant difference among the three groups. Increases in both FVSC and FVLR were significant across all areas and in both layers of the retina. Notably, these metrics showed more pronounced differentiation in the DVP than the SVP.

Foveal BND and BNN in DVP reveal vascular alterations indicative of preclinical DR. Indicators such as EPD, FVSC, and FVLR in DVP correlate with early DR changes and are useful for its early detection. These initial findings demonstrate the potential and benefits of these quantitative OCTA indices for delineating DR-associated alterations in the retinal microvasculature, indicating their potential clinical utility for improved DR screening.