Hong Kong researchers have shown optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) could be useful in the early diagnosis and recognition of amblyopia.
Microvascular abnormalities in amblyopia are becoming evident with high-resolution imaging, such as OCTA, but the clinical significance of the findings is unknown, said researchers.
Designed to assess changes in quantitative OCTA metrics in amblyopic eyes and explore their association with visual acuity (VA) in children, this case-controlled study included children aged six to eight-years-old, recruited from the population-based Hong Kong Children Eye Study (HKCES). Compared with control eyes (1045 participants), amblyopic eyes (30 participants) had decreased FAZ circularity (−0.058; 95% CI, −0.096 to −0.021, P = .002), decreased fractal dimension (−0.014; 95% CI, −0.024 to −0.003; P = .01) and increased vessel diameter index (0.002; 95% CI, 0.002 to 0.003; P < .001). LogMAR VA was associated with FAZ circularity (sβ, −0.133; P < .001) and vessel diameter index (sβ, 0.097; P = .001) but not with vessel density nor FAZ area.
The results support the presence of macular microvascular abnormalities in amblyopic eyes, suggesting a potential role for OCTA assessment, concluded researchers.
