Abstract
Purpose :
To describe the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) features of treatment-naïve “quiescent” choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Methods :
Nine consecutive patients with treatment-naïve quiescent CNV secondary to AMD consecutively presenting between September 2015 and November 2015 at the Retina Service of the Department of Ophthalmology of the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan were enrolled in this study. Patients underwent multimodal imaging assessment including FA, ICGA, SD-OCT and OCT-A. The size and appearance of quiescent CNV on OCT-A were evaluated. OCT-A was performed through a prototype OCT-A (AngioPlex, CIRRUS HD-OCT models 5000, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, USA). The automatic segmentation provided by the machine software was manually adjusted by two expert retinal specialists (G.Q. and F.C.), to ensure correct visualization of the capillary plexuses, outer retinal layers, choriocapillaris layer, and identification of the CNV plane. CNV size was classified as “small” if greatest linear dimension (GLD) was less than 1 mm, “medium” if GLD was between 1 and 2 mm, and “large” if GLD was more than 2 mm. CNV on OCT-A were classified in well circumscribed (seafan-shaped vessels) or poorly circumscribed (long filamentous vessels) on the bases of its appearance and its borders.
Results :
Ten eyes of 9 consecutive patients (4 Female / 5 Male; mean age 75.6±9 years) with quiescent CNV secondary to AMD were included in the analysis. All eyes evaluated in this study demonstrated agreement between OCTA and FA, ICGA, and SD-OCT images with respect to treatment-naïve quiescent CNV identification. CNV size on OCT-A was small in 7 eyes (70%), medium in 2 eyes (20%) and large in 1 eye (10%). CNV appeared as well circumscribed in 7 eyes (70%) and poorly circumscribed in 3 eyes (30%).
Conclusions :
Using OCTA allows the clinician to visualize CNV noninvasively and may provide a method for identifying even treatment-naive quiscent CNV and possibly guiding treatment.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.