Evaluation of retina and choroid perfusion with optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

•Optical coherence tomography angiography is a non-invasive imaging technique that qualitatively and quantitatively reveals the microvascular structure of the retinal layers and optic nerve head without the need for dye injection.•Better knowledge of the hemodynamic structure and changes in patients with retinitis pigmentosa may contribute to our understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease and provide guidance for future follow-up and treatment.•The pathogenesis of retinitis pigmentosa is complex, and the exact cause-effect relationship between ocular hemodynamics and retinitis pigmentosa has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we used Optical coherence tomography angiography to evaluate the changes in retinal microvascular structure associated with retinitis pigmentosa. In this study, we aimed to evaluate macular perfusion with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and to investigate the correlation between OCTA quantitative data and visual acuity (VA) in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). This retrospective single-center study was conducted on 60 eyes of 30 RP patients and 52 healthy eyes. The vessel density (VD) of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP) of the macula, the size of foveal avascular zone (FAZ), choriocapillary flow density (FD) were measured using OCTA. Quantitative data obtained with OCTA were compared between the two groups. In addition, the correlation between the OCTA measurements and VA was examined. In patients with RP, the choriocapillary FD was decreased (p = 0.001), the FAZ area was enlarged (p = 0.010), and the VDs of the SCP and DCP were decreased in all areas (p = 0.001). Correlation was found between VA and SCP VD, whole image (p = 0.011, rho = -0.327) and parafoveal (p = 0.001, rho = -0.444) areas. Quantitative data from OCTA showed reduced macular perfusion in patients with RP compared to healthy controls. There was also a correlation between the quantitative OCTA data and VA.