Sensitivity of OCT and OCTA metrics in grading of hypertensive retinopathy

Purpose: To investigate the sensitivity of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) metrics in grading hypertensive retinopathy (HTR) compared with the gold standard color fundus photographs grading of HTR. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional controlled study. Forty-five chronic hypertensive individuals with different grades of HTR were included in groups A, B, and C corresponding to HRT grades I, II, and III according to KWB grading, respectively. Also, 15 healthy volunteers with no history of Hypertension were included in this study (Group D). HTR patients. A 6 × 6-mm macula scan and a 4.5 × 4.5-mm optic nerve head OCTA scan were performed in each patient using a DRI Triton OCT machine. Macular and optic nerve head vessel density (VD), central foveal thickness (CFT), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT), and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area were measured. Results: The mean CFT was lower in grade I HTR patients (245.167± 22.749), while an increase in thickness in grades II & III (252.800 ± 26.702, 432.467 ± 222.914, respectively) compared to normal controls. Mean SCT was lower in grades I & II and higher in grades III than normal controls. The FAZ area was higher in grades I, II, and III HTN (0.386± 0.131, 0.345± 0.122,0.295±0.077) contrasted to normal controls (p