Reliability of foveal avascular zone measurements in eyes with retinal vein occlusion using optical coherence tomography angiography

Abstract

Background To evaluate the reliability of foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area measurements using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in eyes with retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Methods Twenty-five OCTA exams of patients with RVO were evaluated retrospectively. Three examiners performed manual measurements of the FAZ, and interrater and intrarater reliability were obtained. Results The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for interrater reliability for individual measurements was 0.62 (moderate) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.40 to 0.79 (p < 0.001). The ICC (95% CI) for intrarater reliability was 0.92 (0.82 to 0.96) for rater A, 0.96 (0.91 to 0.98) for B, and 0.88 (0.76 to 0.94) for C (p < 0.001). In all subanalyses including presence of edema and type of occlusion, interrater reliability was poor/moderate, and intrarater reliability was good/excellent. Conclusion The FAZ varies significantly among eyes with RVO, so measurements obtained using OCTA should be analyzed with caution due to the moderate level of reliability among different examiners.

Multimodal Imaging of Microvascular Abnormalities in Retinal Vein Occlusion

“…Although OCTA enables to visualize and measure the FAZ in a non-invasive manner, the FAZ can vary in size and shape even in normal subjects [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. Therefore, measurements of FAZ obtained using OCTA should be analyzed carefully.…”

“…Capillary telangiectasia associated with elevated venous pressure due to RVO, which occurs frequently in eyes with RVO. OCTA visualized capillary telangiectasia in the retinal superficial and deep capillary plexuses of eyes with RVO, and capillary telangiectasia was more common and more widespread in the deep capillary plexus than in the superficial Although OCTA enables to visualize and measure the FAZ in a non-invasive manner, the FAZ can vary in size and shape even in normal subjects [77][78][79][80]. Therefore, measurements of FAZ obtained using OCTA should be analyzed carefully.…”

Ophthalmic Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Review

“…It is important to note that the OCTA technology used in this study is more advanced than traditional fluorescein angiography (FA) in capturing vasculature within the optic nerve head and macula, and it is non-invasive (Zabel et al, 2019b). This is because OCTA provides information on the layers of retinal vasculature separately as opposed to the two-dimensional images offered by FA (De Oliveira et al, 2020). OCTA is being used to analyze the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) as OCTA can detect the FAZ size in more detail than FA; hence OCTA could potentially be used to aid AD ocular diagnosis.…”

Research progress of UWFFA and OCTA in retinal vein occlusion: A review

“…18 But few studies have considered macular degeneration, such as macular ischemia or edema. De Oliveira et al 19 evaluated the reliability of FAZ area measurements using OCTA in eyes with RVO. It was found that the artifacts in the OCTA image may complicate the correct judgment of the FAZ boundary, but the reliability of the FAZ boundary before and after treatment indicates that the FAZ area measured by OCTA can be used for follow-up.…”