Purpose
Although the reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) is the distinct entity and should differentiate with the soft drusen, it is thought to be rare in Japanese population. It might be associated with the geographic atrophy in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). The purpose in the current study is to evaluate the choroid using optical coherence tomography (OCT), retrospectively.
Methods
The eyes with RPD diagnosed by fundus photos in patients over 75 years of age were examined. The eyes with exudative AMD were excluded because of indetermination. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was measured using swept source OCT (Topcon, Japan). The eyes in age-matched patients without retinal and choroidal disorder were also examined as control.
Results
Of 874 patients, RPD was observed in 15 eyes of 12 patients (1.4%). Mean age was 85.9 years old. Mean visual acuity was 0.76 (range 0.5-1.2). Bilateral cases were 6 eyes of 3 patients, and unilateral cases were 9 eyes of 9 patients. Eight eyes of contralateral eyes in 8 unilateral cases developed exudative AMD including 4 eyes of RAP, however no geographic atrophy was found in the current study. Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness in RPD was 109±46µm, which was significantly thinner than age-matched control (196±60µm, P<0.01, 30 eyes of 27 patients [mean age 85.2 years old]).
Conclusions
The incidence of RPD in over 75 years of age was low in the current study. Choroidal thinning compare to age-matched control and high frequency of exudative AMD in the contralateral eye indicates RPD may be associated with the choroidal morphologic changes and development of exudative AMD.
Keywords: 452 choroid •
585 macula/fovea •
550 imaging/image analysis: clinical