The following is a summary of “Changes in retinal vascular density measured by optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with carotid artery stenosis after carotid artery stenting and angioplasty,” published in the March 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Karapapak et al.

Carotid artery stenting and angioplasty (CASA) effects on retinal vascular density (VD) in severe carotid stenosis need to be compared with healthy controls using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). 

Researchers conducted a prospective study assessing the impact of CASA on retinal VD compared to healthy controls using OCTA in patients with severe carotid stenosis. 

They categorized the eyes on the operated side as ipsilateral and the other eye as contralateral. The assessment included 40 ipsilateral eyes with carotid artery stenosis (CAS), 34 contralateral eyes, and 30 healthy eyes. Quantitative OCTA analysis measured retinal VD changes in the superficial and deep capillary plexuses (SCP and DCP) before and after CASA.

The results showed that VD evaluation of ipsilateral and contralateral eyes before and after treatment revealed that all patients did not have visual symptoms. Initially, VD in the SCP was similar across all groups. After the procedure, SCP VD didn’t change significantly. However, VD in the DCP improved notably after CASA in both ipsilateral and contralateral groups. 

Investigators concluded that OCTA can detect VD improvements after CASA in patients with CAS. Changes in VD measured with OCTA could be early indicators for diagnosing CAS and monitoring treatment success.

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10792-024-03069-x