Intrasession Repeatability and Intersession Reproducibility of Macular Vessel Parameters on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Glaucomatous and Non-Glaucomatous Eyes

Purpose Using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), this study compared intrasession repeatability versus intersession reproducibility of macular vessel parameters in glaucoma and non-glaucoma subjects. Methods 6 x 6 mm(2) macular OCTA scans (Cirrus HD-OCT 5000) were acquired from glaucomatous and non-glaucomatous subjects as part of an observational, longitudinal study. Vessel area density (VAD) and vessel skeleton density (VSD) were calculated using research-based quantification software while perfusion density (PDZ) and vessel density (VDZ) were calculated using commercially developed software (Cirrus 11.0, Carl Zeiss Meditec). Intrasession repeatability and intersession reproducibility were determined using within-eye standard deviation (S-W), within-eye coefficient of repeatability (CRW), within-eye coefficient of variation (CVW), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Results The intrasession repeatability and intersession reproducibility for macular OCTA parameters were similar to one another for both non-glaucomatous and glaucomatous eyes. Intrasession CVW from the non-glaucoma group (n = 73) was 1.097% for VAD, 1.007% for VSD, 2.980% for PDZ, and 2.714% for VDZ. Intersession CVW from the non-glaucoma group (n = 55) was 1.389% for VAD, 1.279% for VSD, 2.935% for PDZ, and 2.695% for VDZ. Intrasession CVW from the glaucoma group (n = 59) was 1.189% for VAD, 0.970% for VSD, 3.827% for PDZ, and 3.542% for VDZ. Intersession CVW from the glaucoma group (n = 45) was 1.412% for VAD, 1.132% for VSD, 3.915% for PDZ, and 3.654% for VDZ. Non-glaucomatous intrasession ICC ranged from 0.711 to 0.824, non-glaucomatous intersession ICC ranged from 0.649 to 0.762, glaucomatous intrasession ICC ranged from 0.710 to 0.853, and glaucomatous intersession ICC ranged from 0.661 to 0.827. Conclusions Macular OCTA scans can be a useful tool in monitoring the longitudinal progression of glaucoma due to their high repeatability and reproducibility.

Automated summary

This study compared the intrasession repeatability and intersession reproducibility of macular vessel parameters in glaucoma and non-glaucoma subjects using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). The results showed that macular OCTA scans have high repeatability and reproducibility, making them a useful tool in monitoring the longitudinal progression of glaucoma.