Optical coherence tomography angiography findings in axial spondylarthritis

The aim of this study is to evaluate the density of retinal vascular structures and their relationship with disease duration and activity in patients with axial spondylarthritis (axSpA) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A). In this case–control study, 56 eyes of 29 axSpA patients and 61 eyes of 31 healthy controls (HCs) were evaluated using OCT-A. The capillary plexus density (CPD) of vessels in the parafovea and perifovea regions was evaluated from the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DPC) flow areas. The CPD of vessels in the fundus was evaluated from the radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) flow area. Foveal avascular zone (FAZ) size was measured. In axSpA patients and HCs, the mean CPD (%) in the whole retina was 50.75 ± 2.59 and 52.43 ± 2.10 ( p