Trends in optical coherence tomography angiography use in university clinic and private practice setting between 2014-2018

Abstract

Background: The aim was to assess the trends in optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) use compared with fluorescein angiography (FA).

Methods: A bilateral patient's exam on a single day was considered one examination. A total of 3680 and 700 OCTA examinations and 3387 and 439 FA examinations were performed between 2014 and 2018 in a university clinic and private practice, respectively. A regression analysis was completed.

Results: The use of OCTA procedures grew 17-fold from 2015 till 2018. In a university clinic, ultrawide-field FA accounted for 2% of all FA examinations performed in 2015, and its use increased to 68% in 2018 while the number of narrow-field FA examinations dropped from 617 in 2014 to 220 in 2018. This decrease inversely correlated with the rise of diabetic retinopathy cases diagnosed with FA (R= -0.86, p= 0.02). In private practice, the increase in the use of OCTA was a primary driver of the decline of the FA use from 127 in 2015 to 27 in 2018, while the number of OCTA examinations was 344 in 2018 (R= -0.99, p= 0.06).

Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that OCTA is a valuable tool capable of replacing FA in some selected cases.

Keywords: FA vs OCTA; OCT-A; OCTA; Optos; clinical effectiveness.