Changes in retinal and choroidal thickness and vascular density in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Assessed by optical coherence tomography angiography

Abstract

Objective: The aim was to investigate the changes in retinal and choroidal thickness and vascular density in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods: Twenty-nine patients with SLE (29 eyes) and 25 control subjects (25 eyes) were enrolled. SLE activity was assessed using the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Retinal thickness (RT), inner retinal thickness (IRT), outer retinal thickness (ORT), choroidal thickness (ChT), retinal superficial vascular density (SVD), retinal deep vascular density (DVD), choriocapillary vascular density (CCVD), foveal avascular zone (FAZ), superficial FAZ (sFAZ), and deep FAZ (dFAZ) were measured using OCTA. The retinal and choroidal thickness and vascular density between the control group and SLE group were compared. The relationships between SLEDAI scores and the retinal and choroidal thickness and vascular density in SLE group were analyzed. Results: The SVD was significantly increased, and the DVD and CCVD were significantly decreased in the SLE group compared to the control group (p