Joo CW, Choi HG, Kim KL, Park SP, Kim YK. Factors affecting optical coherence tomography angiography signal strength index in patients receiving intravitreal injection treatment.
Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2023;
261:3403-3413. [PMID:
37561146 DOI:
10.1007/s00417-023-06200-3]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE
To investigate the clinical factors affecting optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) signal strength index (SSI) and its change after intravitreal injection treatment in patients with retinal disorders.
METHODS
OCTA data from 186 eyes of 166 patients with various retinal disorders including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema (DME), and retinal vein occlusions who received intravitreal injections were analyzed. The associations between SSI and clinical factors, including age, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), media opacity severity, and central macular thickness (CMT), were evaluated both before and after injection.
RESULTS
After injection, BCVA improved and CMT decreased significantly, and SSI increased significantly (p = 0.030). BCVA showed a significant positive correlation with media opacity severity before and after injection and with CMT only before injection. In the multivariate analysis, age, presence of DME, BCVA, and media opacity severity were negatively associated with SSI both before and after injection, while CMT was negatively associated with SSI only before injection. After injection, a negative correlation was found between SSI change and both BCVA and CMT change.
CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest that OCTA SSI is influenced by various clinical factors, including age, visual acuity, media opacity severity, and macular thickening, especially in cases of DME. The results also indicate that SSI may decrease in patients with macular disorders due to the presence of macular edema and the associated decrease in visual acuity. Therefore, it is crucial to consider these factors when interpreting OCTA data and ensure an adequate level of SSI.
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