Optical coherence tomography angiography demonstrates characteristic retinal vasculature features in patients with hidradenitis suppurative, allowing non-invasive monitoring of visual changes in this population.
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is associated with the relapsing–remitting course of suppuration and scarring. This disease has widespread systemic manifestations, including ocular complications, which prompt ocular examination in HS patients.
Optic coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a non-invasive imaging modality; however, little is known about its use in detecting retinal microvascular changes in HS patients. A case–control study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine assessed retinal microvascular features on OCTA in HS patients to identify any impairment in the morphology and physiology of retinal vasculature.
Study Participants
A total of 10 HS patients (20 eyes) and 15 healthy controls (30 eyes) were enrolled. Approximately 60% of the HS patients were females. On the basis of Hurley’s classification, the HS patients were classified as stage I (30%), stage II (40%), and stage III (30%). Only 20% of the HS patients reported a positive family history of the disease.
Retinal Vascular Alterations on Optic Coherence Tomography Angiography
Compared to healthy controls, OCTA images in HS patients indicated significantly higher values of the foveal avascular zone (mm2) in both superficial and deep capillary plexuses (p = 0.001). The HS patients demonstrated a significant increase in the percent optic nerve vascular density (VD) in the deep capillary plexus (p = 0.002). On the contrary, HS patients had significantly lower values of foveal VD and vessel length density (VLD) in superficial capillary plexus (p = 0.002 and p = 0.002) and foveal VLD in the deep capillary plexus (p = 0.006).
Confounding Factors and Study Limitations
In this study, the analysis did not control for confounding factors such as different treatment regimens and different time points of OCTA assessment, contributing to potential bias in the study findings. Other limitations included a retrospective study design and a relatively small sample size.
In conclusion, retinal microvascular changes in HS can be successfully detected by OCTA, making it a novel tool for prevention and monitoring of visual changes.
Source:
Manfredini, M., Ragusa, E., Gibertini, M., Bigi, L., Ferrari, B., Lasagni, C., Magnoni, C., Lazzerini, A., Farnetani, F., & Verdina, T. (2024). Retinal microvascular alterations in hidradenitis suppurativa patients: A pilot study using Optical coherence Tomography Angiography. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(5), 1464. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13051464
