Abstract:Objective To investigate the changes of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, retinal thickness and blood flow density in different stages of diabetes retinopathy (DR) patients based on optical coherence tomography (OCTA). Method A retrospective analysis was conducted on 382 patients diagnosed with DR in our hospital from February 2023 to February 2024. According to the staging criteria, the patients were divided into mild group (n=121), moderate group (n=133), severe group (n=72), and proliferative group (n=56). The general clinical data of the four groups of patients were compared; OCTA was used to scan and collect data from all patients, and the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, total retinal thickness, and blood flow density were compared among the four groups of patients. Result There was no statistically significant difference in age, gender, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and random blood glucose among patients in the mild, moderate, severe, and proliferative groups (P>0.05); As the condition worsens, the course of the disease gradually prolongs (P<0.05); As the severity of DR increases, the upper, lower, temporal, nasal, and average thickness gradually increase (P<0.05); However, there was no statistically significant difference in the thickness of the lower retinal nerve fiber layer between the moderate and mild groups (P>0.05); As the severity of DR increases, the retinal thickness gradually increases (P<0.05); As the severity of DR increases, the superficial retinal blood flow density, deep retinal blood flow density, and choroidal capillary layer blood flow density all gradually decrease (P<0.05); However, there was no statistically significant difference in superficial retinal blood flow density between the moderate and severe groups (P>0.05). Conclusion OCTA can accurately observe the changes in retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, retinal thickness, and blood flow density in patients with DR at different stages, which can serve as sensitive indicators for monitoring DR progression.
