May 2007
Volume 48, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2007
Understanding the Discrepancy Between Fluorescein Angiography and High-Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography in Detection of Macular Edema
I. Kozak; D.-U. Bartsch; T. M. Clark; V. L. Morrison; I. Falkenstein; A. M. Tammewar; F. Mojana; B. Lee; W. R. Freeman
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • I. Kozak
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • D.-U. Bartsch
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • T. M. Clark
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • V. L. Morrison
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • I. Falkenstein
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • A. M. Tammewar
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • F. Mojana
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • B. Lee
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • W. R. Freeman
    Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships I. Kozak, None; D. Bartsch, None; T.M. Clark, None; V.L. Morrison, None; I. Falkenstein, None; A.M. Tammewar, None; F. Mojana, None; B. Lee, None; W.R. Freeman, None.
  • Footnotes
    Support None.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2007, Vol.48, 114. doi:
  • Views
  • Share
  • Tools
    • Alerts
      User Alerts
      You are adding an alert for:
      Understanding the Discrepancy Between Fluorescein Angiography and High-Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography in Detection of Macular Edema
      You will receive an email whenever this article is corrected, updated, or cited in the literature. You can manage this and all other alerts in My Account
      The alert will be sent to:
      ×
      This feature is available to authenticated users only.
      Sign In or Create an Account ×
    • Get Citation
      Citation

      I. Kozak, D.-U. Bartsch, T. M. Clark, V. L. Morrison, I. Falkenstein, A. M. Tammewar, F. Mojana, B. Lee, W. R. Freeman; Understanding the Discrepancy Between Fluorescein Angiography and High-Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography in Detection of Macular Edema. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2007;48(13):114.

      Download citation file:

      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

      ×
    • Get Permissions
  • Supplements
Abstract

Purpose:: To compare the abilities of high resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography (FA) to detect macular edema of various etiologies and explain possible discrepancies in findings between the two techniques.

Methods:: A retrospective study reviewing imaging studies of eyes that underwent simultaneous conventional FA (HRA, Heidelberg, Germany)/StratusOCT (Zeiss, Dublin, CA, U.S.A.) examination over the 12 months period at one retina center. The eyes were imaged to rule out macular edema due to retinovascular diseases, exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and uveitis. A subset of patients underwent examination with extremely high-resolution (6 microns)/ultrahigh speed Spectral OCT/scanning laser phthalmoscope (SLO) (OTI, Toronto, Canada).

Results:: Out of 1272 eyes (654 patients; 36 unilateral exams) the diagnosis of macular edema was confirmed in 1208 eyes (94.96%) by both techniques. There were 49 eyes (3.85%) in which FA showed dye leakage in the macular area and OCT showed normal foveal contour and normal thickness of adjacent retina. This discrepancy was observed most frequently in eyes with diabetic macular edema (n=25) and exudative AMD (n=14). A subset of eyes of this group that were imaged with extremely high-resolution/ultrahigh speed Spectral OCT/SLO showed subtle diffuse lucencies in the retina. In 15 eyes (1.17%) OCT showed intra/subretinal fluid, which was missed on FA. This occurred most commonly in eyes with exudative AMD (n=13).Conslusions: Both the FA and OCT are highly sensitive techniques and correlate well in detection of macular edema caused by various retinal and choroidal diseases. However, there a small chance that when performed alone they might miss existing subtle macular edema. The use of extremely high-resolution/ultrahigh speed Spectral OCT/SLO can detect subtle edema correlating with fluorescein leakage which does not accumulate in cysts and therefore helps to explain the cases where FA indicates edema and Stratus OCT does not.

Keywords: imaging/image analysis: clinical • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • macula/fovea 
© 2007, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
×
×

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

Sign in or purchase a subscription to access this content. ×

You must be signed into an individual account to use this feature.

×
This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.Accept