Abstract
AIMS: To compare the circumpapillary and macular vessel density (cpVD/mVD) of eyes with temporal visual field (VF) defect and band atrophy (BA) of the optic nerve and normal controls using OCTA and to verify the association of VD parameters with circumpapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (cpRNFL) thickness, macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) thickness and VF loss. METHODS: Thirty-three eyes of 26 patients with BA and 42 eyes of 22 age-matched normal controls underwent OCT + OCTA scanning. cpVD and cpRNFL were expressed as average and sector measurements. mVD and mGCC were calculated as averages and in quadrants and hemiretinas. VF loss was estimated using the 24-2 and the 10-2 protocols. Generalized estimated equation models were used for comparisons and area under the receiver operating characteristics (AROC) were calculated. RESULTS: Compared with controls, BA eyes displayed smaller average cpVD and mVD values (p < 0.001 and AROC = 0.91 for both). Sectorial measurements were also reduced, especially the nasotemporal sector average cpVD (p < 0.001 and AROC = 0.96) and the nasal retina mVD measurements (p < 0.001 and AROC = 0.93). cpVD and mVD correlated strongly with corresponding cpRNFL and mGCC thickness measurements in affected regions (r range: 0.67-0.78 and 0.56-0.76, respectively). Similarly, cpVD and mVD parameters correlated significantly with corresponding VF loss (r range: 0.45-0.68). CONCLUSIONS: cpVD and mVD are significantly reduced in BA eyes compared with controls and are strongly correlated with retinal neural and VF loss. cpVD and mVD reduction on OCTA could serve as a surrogate for retinal neural loss in compressive optic neuropathy and might be useful in its management.