To observe the macular vascular density (MVD) in diabetic patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

We analyzed 62 eyes of 31 diabetic patients with DKD (DKD group), 68 eyes of 34 diabetic patients without DKD (non-DKD group), and 62 eyes of 31 healthy controls. All the subjects underwent 4.5 mm×4.5 mm scanning of macular by OCTA to obtain the 4 levels of the macular density map. The 3 layers of MVD, including the superficial capillary plexus (SCP), the deep capillary plexus (DCP), and the choriocapillaris (CC), were observed.

In the DKD group, 46 eyes (74.2%) got diabetic retinopathy (DR) , and 16 eyes (27.4%) proliferative DR (PDR) . In non-DKD group, 28 eyes (41.2%) got DR, and 7 eyes (10.3%) PDR. No DR occurred in the control group. The incidences of DR and PDR in the 3 groups were statistically different with each other (all P<0.05). The MVD of the 3 levels decreased gradually from the control group to the non-DKD group and to the DKD group. There were no statistical differences in SCP MVD (P=0.33) between the DKD group and the non-DKD group, but were in DCP MVD and CC MVD (all P<0.05). There were statistical differences in the 3 levels of MVD between the DKD group and the control group (allP<0.05), but no between the non-DKD group and the control group (allP>0.05).

There is a close correlation between DKD and DR. OCTA can be considered in DR screening, indicating that MDV in DKD patients decreases significantly.

Diabetic kidney disease; Diabetic retinopathy; Optical coherence tomography angiography; Macular vascular density