To observe the changes of macular morphology and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in children with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) after single treatment of laser photocoagulation or intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (IVR) by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

A cross sectional study was conducted.Fourteen cases (23 eyes) of ROP children with a treatment history aged 4-10 years were enrolled as the ROP group in Shenzhen Eye Hospital from April to August 2018, with 8 cases (16 eyes) of age-matched full-term children as control group.Among the ROP group, 9 cases (14 eyes) receiving photocoagulation were set as the photocoagulation group and 5 cases (9 eyes) receiving IVR as the injection group.The 3 mm×3 mm scanning mode of OCTA was adopted to measure the area of foveal avascular zone (FAZ), FAZ morphological index, superficial retinal vascular density (VD) and superficial retinal perfusion density (PD), and the B-scan mode was used to determine the central foveal thickness (CFT). BCVA of all children was recorded and analyzed.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by an Ethics Committee of Shenzhen Eye Hospital (No.b-03). Written informed consent was obtained from guardians prior to any examination.

Compared with the control group, there was smaller area of FAZ, more irregular FAZ morphology and thicker CFT in the ROP group.The central fovea of macula in the laser photocoagulation group was shallow and almost indiscernible, and FAZ morphology was irregular.The FAZ area, FAZ morphological index, VD and PD in the ROP group were (0.09±0.08) mm², 0.51±0.25, (19.18±2.50)mm/mm² and 0.35±0.04, respectively, which were significantly lower than (0.32±0.08)mm², 0.68±0.07, (20.94±0.93)mm/mm², 0.38±0.02, respectively in the control group (t=-8.03, -3.14, -3.02, -2.52; all at P<0.05). The CFT in the ROP group was (215.00±21.32) μm, which was significantly thicker than (164.29±20.20) μm in the control group (t=8.91, P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in BCVA between the two groups (t=0.16, P=0.87). The CET in the laser photocoagulation group was significantly thicker than that in the injection group (t=3.50, P=0.01).

There are obvious morphology changes of macula in ROP children with single treatment history of laser photocoagulation or IVR, while the BCVA is not significantly affected by the treatment.

Retinopathy of prematurity; Optical coherence tomography angiography; Foveal avascular zone