Regional Patterns of Retinal Oxygen Saturation and Microvascular Hemodynamic Parameters Preceding Retinopathy in Patients With Type II Diabetes.

Purpose: Alterations in retinal oxygen metabolism and retinal microcirculation are signs of impending diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, if specific retinal regions are primarily affected is so far unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate if retinal oxygen saturation (SO2) and microvascular hemodynamic parameters follow a distinct regional pattern in patients with diabetes but no DR.

Methods: Patients with type II diabetes without clinically apparent DR were imaged as follows: SO2 in peripapillary vessels was assessed with dual-wavelength oximetry. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) scans were acquired with a prototype system using a swept-source laser with an effective 400 kHz A-scan rate and 16° field of view. Regional flow indices termed "flux" were calculated for the peripapillary microvasculature. Parafoveal capillary density was evaluated with the commercially available AngioVue OCTA.

Results: Twenty-nine eyes of 16 consecutive patients (59 ± 10 years, 6 females) were included in this study. SO2 differed significantly between quadrants (P < 0.001), with a decreasing pattern from the upper nasal through the lower nasal, the upper temporal and the lower temporal quadrant in arterioles and venules. In contrast, peripapillary flux followed an increasing trend from nasally to temporally. Peripapillary and parafoveal microvascular hemodynamic parameters demonstrated no significant regional variability as observed for retinal oxygenation.

Conclusions: Metabolic imaging identified regional differences in retinal SO2 without an associated topographic variance in microvascular hemodynamics in type II diabetes without DR. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms causing this heterogeneity in metabolic demand.