UCSF

Purpose

To analyze the effect of induced astigmatism on en-face spectral-domain optical coherence tomography angiography quantitative metrics.

Design

Prospective crossover study.

Methods

Normal eyes without astigmatism and with 0.75, 1.75, and 2.75 diopters (D) of with-the-rule (WTR) astigmatism were imaged using a 3 × 3-mm scan pattern SD-OCTA CIRRUS 5000 HD-OCT with AngioPlex (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA, USA). Quantitative parameters, including foveal avascular zone metrics, parafoveal vessel length density (VD), and perfusion density (PD) were corrected for magnification secondary to axial length and analyzed. Univariate linear regressions were performed within each eye to correlate quantitative metrics to the level of an induced astigmatic cylinder.

Results

Fifteen eyes from 15 patients were imaged. Every 1-D increase in induced WTR astigmatism was associated with a statistically significant decrease in VD and PD within all Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study inner ring quadrants; however, especially more so nasally (VD: 0.63; P < .001; PD: 0.0089; P = .001). For every 1-D increase in induced astigmatism, the resulting decrease in the inner ring superior quadrant was 12% greater for VD and 16% greater for PD versus that in the inferior quadrant. The resulting decrease in the inner ring nasal quadrant was 40% greater for VD and 48% greater for PD versus that in the temporal quadrant.

Conclusions

Increasing levels of induced WTR astigmatism correlated with globally diminishing VD and PD, was more symmetrical for vertical than horizontal quadrants, and was most pronounced nasally. This may be due to a high prevalence of horizontally oriented vessels nasally and the horizontal optical defocus induced by WTR astigmatism.