Abstract
Purpose: :
To correlate fluorescein angiographic (FA) features with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) findings in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Methods: :
FAs and SDOCT volume scans (Spectralis) from 13 eyes with previously untreated neovascular AMD with minimally or predominantly classic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) were retrospectively collected. SDOCT volume scans were quantitatively analyzed using custom software termed "3D OCTOR", designed to facilitate manual delineation of various boundaries on SDOCT B-scans, thereby permitting calculation of thickness, volume and area measurements of various retinal and subretinal spaces of interest. Delineated spaces included the neurosensory retina, subretinal fluid, subretinal tissue, and pigment epithelial detachments (PED). The FA grading software "GRADOR" was used to manually define the area of the total CNV lesion as well as individual lesion components, including classic CNV, occult CNV, staining scar, blood and blocked fluorescence. Measurements obtained by FA and SDOCT analysis were correlated using Pearson Correlation.
Results: :
No correlation was found between the volume of the retina or subretinal fluid on OCT and the area of the CNV lesion or the various lesions components on FA. The volume of subretinal tissue on OCT showed a statistically significant correlation with the area of classic CNV on FA (p<0.0001, R= 0.88), and the volume of PED on OCT showed a significant correlatino with the area of occult CNV on FA (p=0.006, R=0.71) and the area of the total CNV lesion on FA (p=0.008, R=0.70). The area of PED on OCT showed a significant correlation with the area of occult CNV on FA (p<0.0001, R=0.88) and the area of the total CNV lesion on FA (p<0.001, R=0.81). The area of subretinal tissue on OCT showed a significant correlation with the area of classic CNV on FA (p<0.001, R=0.85).
Conclusions: :
Significant correlations were observed between angiographic features and SDOCT findings in neovascular AMD. The findings were consistent with the supposition that classic CNV is frequently akin to Type II histologic CNV and occult CNV is often analogous to Type I histologic CNV. Further studies are needed to evaluate if SDOCT may be as sensitive as angiography for detecting and classifying CNV.
Keywords: imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • age-related macular degeneration