PURPOSE The aim of this study is to evaluate the retinal microvascular density in SLE patients using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and to correlate vascular density with the disease activity and damage risk. METHODS Twenty eyes of 20 SLE patients were compared with 20 eyes of normal subjects. The retinal capillary plexuses were examined by OCTA. The disease activity and damage risk were evaluated by the SLEDAI-2 K and SLICC/ACR SDI scoring systems. RESULTS No difference was found between SLE patients' central foveal thickness (CFT) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area and the normal (P > 0.05). SLE patients had slightly lower superficial vessel densities than normal in the upper and lower macular regions (P < 0.05), sparing the middle sectors (P > 0.05). In the deep plexus, vessel density loss was detected in all sectors (P < 0.001). The vessel density in 300-μm-wide region around the FAZ (FD-300) and the acircularity index (AI) were affected in the SLE in comparison to the normal group (P < 0.05). No significant correlation was found between the SLEDAI-2 k and the retinal vessel density in either layer, while the SLICC/SDI had moderate inverse correlation with vessel density in some sectors (P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the deep capillary plexus had high sensitivity and specificity for detecting vascular damage in SLE patients. CONCLUSIONS OCTA permits noninvasive quantitative assessment of retinal vessel density in SLE, allowing early detection of altered retinal circulation. Vessel density could be included in future assessment of SLE activity and damage scores.

中文翻译：

---

使用光学相干断层扫描血管造影评估系统性红斑狼疮患者的浅表和深部视网膜血管密度。

目的 本研究的目的是使用光学相干断层扫描血管造影术 (OCTA) 评估 SLE 患者的视网膜微血管密度，并将血管密度与疾病活动性和损伤风险相关联。方法将20例SLE患者的20只眼与正常人的20只眼进行比较。通过 OCTA 检查视网膜毛细血管丛。通过 SLEDAI-2 K 和 SLICC/ACR SDI 评分系统评估疾病活动性和损害风险。结果 SLE患者中央凹厚度（CFT）和中央凹无血管区（FAZ）面积与正常人无差异（P > 0.05）。SLE 患者在上部和下部黄斑区的浅表血管密度略低于正常人 (P < 0.05)，中间部分保留 (P > 0.05)。在深层神经丛中，所有部门都检测到血管密度损失 (P < 0.001)。与正常组相比，SLE 患者 FAZ 周围 300 μm 宽区域的血管密度 (FD-300) 和非圆度指数 (AI) 受到影响 (P < 0.05)。SLEDAI-2 k 与任一层的视网膜血管密度之间均未发现显着相关性，而 SLICC/SDI 与某些区域的血管密度呈中度负相关（P < 0.05）。受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析表明深部毛细血管丛对检测SLE患者血管损伤具有较高的敏感性和特异性。结论 OCTA 允许对 SLE 患者的视网膜血管密度进行无创定量评估，从而能够及早发现改变的视网膜循环。