Pseudo-PED in high-myopia

Abstract

Purpose : To describe the presence of pseudo-pigment epithelial detachment (PED), a new optical coherence tomography (OCT) finding in high-myopia eyes.

Methods : We reviewed the charts of 30 high-myopia eyes analyzed through spectral-domain OCT using enhanced depth imaging (EDI) technique. Two trained examiners (TC and RS) analyzed six radial scans centered on the fovea. For any of the thirty eyes, subfoveal choroidal thickness was manually measured. In the eyes where pseudo-PEDs were observed, the distance between the fovea and the pseudo-PED was measured along with the pseudo-PED thickness.

Results : Pseudo-PEDs were found in 12 out of 30 eyes (estimated prevalence of 40%; 22-58%, 95% confidence intervals). In all eyes, pseudo-PEDs corresponded to large choroidal vessels that elevated the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). In the 12 high-myopia eyes with pseudo-PEDs, the mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 38.9+/- 31.7 µm, which was significantly lower than in high-myopia eyes without pseudo-PEDs (87.8+/- 52.8 µm; p=0.004); choroidal thickness was 82.9+/-36.0 µm in correspondence of the pseudo-PED. In 10 out of 12 eyes with pseudo-PEDs, this finding was observed within the macular area. In 9 out of 12 eyes with pseudo-PEDs (75 %) we found areas of patchy atrophy, which was significantly lower than in high-myopia eyes without pseudo-PEDs (4 out of 18 cases; p=0.008).

Conclusions : Pseudo-PEDs were often detected in high-myopia eyes and correspond to RPE elevation due to the presence of an underlying large choroidal vessel without evidence of sub-RPE pathological findings. They are more likely to appear in high-myopia eyes with thinner choroidal thickness and are often associated with patchy atrophy.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.