Optical Coherence Tomography-angiography in the Diagnostics of Fundus Microcirculation in Patients in the Post-COVID Period

Purpose: tо study the retinal vessel density of the parafoveal and peripapillary zones and the optic disc area in patients in the postCOVID period using OCT-A.

Patients and methods: A total of 30 people (60 eyes) aged 18 to 82 (average 61.7 ± 14.2) years were examined at the Federal State Budgetary Institution “United Hospital and Polyclinic” of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation. All subjects had a history of a new coronavirus infection COVID-19 of varying severity, confirmed by a positive result for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by PCR. OCT-A was performed on an Optopol SOCT Copernicus REVO NX device (Poland).

Results. The vessel density of the superficial and deep retinal capillary plexus of the parafoveal zone in all quadrants (nasal, inferior, temporal and superior) was significantly lower compared to the normal values of the corresponding zones (p < 0.001). A significant decrease in the microcirculation parameters of all studied optic disc parameters was proven compared to normal values (p < 0.001). At the same time, the vascular bed density inside the optic disc was the lowest, amounting to 29.6 ± 5.6 % for the right eye and 27.9 ± 6.4 % for the left, which was significantly lower than the normal values of 52.9 ± 3.6 %, p < 0.001.

Conclusion. The studies conducted using OCT-A proved microcirculatory fundus’ changes in patients after a new coronavirus infection. Thus, a significant decrease in the vascular density was revealed both in the retina’s parafoveal and peripapillary zones, as well as in the optic nerve head area, which may indicate the development of preclinical maculopathy and optic neuropathy. The obtained data made it possible to continue the studies initiated in order to develop and apply rehabilitation measures at the initial stages of the disease.

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