Purpose
To investigate whether subfoveal choroidal thickness predicted treatment responses to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
Methods
Retrospective observation case series. This study included 66 eyes from 60 patients who were diagnosed with new-onset PCV for a minimum follow-up of 6 months. The included patients received 3 monthly intravitreal injections of 0.5 mg ranibizumab or 1.25 mg bevacizumab at baseline, month 1, and month 2. “Good responders” were defined as those who showed complete resolution of subretinal and/or intraretinal fluid at month 3 after the loading injections, whereas “poor-responders” were defined as those who showed persistent retinal fluids on optical coherence tomography (OCT) at month 3 after the loading injections. Best-corrected visual acuity, indocyanine green angiography, and spectral domain-OCT findings between the 2 groups at baseline were analyzed.
Results
Mean age was 68.2 ± 9.7 years and the mean follow-up period was 27 ± 21 months. The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 273 ± 117 μm and choroidal vascular hyperpermeability was observed in 35 eyes (53.0%). Thirty-three eyes (50%) showed good response to treatment, and a thinner subfoveal choroid at baseline significantly correlated with favorable treatment response (P=0.024). However, there was no significant relationship between treatment response and choroidal vascular hyperpermeability (P=0.999).
Conclusions
Patients who achieved complete resolution of macular exudation after 3 loading injections of anti-VEGF agents had significantly thinner subfoveal choroidal thickness.