Hyperfluorescent spots in late frames of indocyanine green angiography: a new target for diabetic macular edema.

Wang, Xin; Wang, Xiyuan; Zhang, Wenyi; Zhang, Yi; Zhou, Aiyi · Retina · 2025

retrospective_cohort · Level III

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Abstract

During diabetic macular edema (DME), some large microvascular abnormalities called telangiectatic capillaries (TCs) could be observed in the late frames of indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) as hyperfluorescent spots. In this study, we investigated the features of TCs and its relation with DME. Retrospective review of patients diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (DR). The presence of TCs was compared between DME and non-DME eyes. Besides, the features of TCs on OCT and the capability to detect TCs using fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and early frames of ICGA were also explored. 78 eyes with DR were included in our study and 56 eyes had DME. There was significant difference of the occurrence of TCs between DME and non-DME group (OR 6.254, 95%CI 1.738-22.496, P=0.005). OCT showed that the retina around TCs was more prone to thickening in eyes with DME (P=0.032). For DME eyes with TCs (47 eyes), only a fraction of TCs in late phases of ICGA can be detected by FFA and early phases of ICGA. TCs were more commonly occurred in eyes with DME, indicating that they might be a potential target for the treatment of DME.