Comparison of choriocapillary flow density between fellow eyes of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Abstract

Background: To compare the choriocapillary flow density (CFD) among the fellow eyes of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), and healthy controls using spectraldomain optical coherence angiography tomography (SD-OCTA). Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that includes the fellow eyes of 38 patients with unilateral PCV, 36 patients with unilateral nAMD, and 36 eyes from 36 healthy volunteers. The PCV group was further classified into polypoidal CNV (P-CNV) and typical PCV (T-PCV) for subgroup analysis. The age, subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) classification, and fellow eye diagnosis were acquired. All subjects underwent SD-OCTA with a 6.0-mm scan pattern. Circles with radius of 1.00, 1.50, and 3.00 mm were manually selected in the choriocapillaris (CC) slab, and the CFD was calculated as the percentage of the flow area to the whole selected area as CFD-1.00, 1.50, and 3.00, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to study the correlation between the aforementioned factors with CFD.

The characteristics of choriocapillaris flow void in the unilateral polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy fellow eyes

“…Recently, OCTA has been effectively detect typical pathological manifestations of PCV 25 . Luo et al reported similar results to ours in that the proportion of the choriocapillaris flow deficit area of PCV fellow eyes has a decreasing trend, but there was no statistical difference compared with an age-matched control group 5 . However, in the present research, the number of FVs in small sizes was lower compared to that of the controls, while the total area had no difference.…”

“…However, it has been reported 4 that there was no difference in vascular parameters of the choroidal vasculature, including the CC between the pachychoroid eyes without disease and normal eyes in a study using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Other studies 5 have found that the CC flow deficit of PCV fellow eyes decreased, but did not reach statistical difference compared to the age-matched control group. Since CC cannot be delineated directly with the current OCTA devices, careful consideration is required to reach a conclusion.…”

“…Previous studies of ICGA have shown that the pathological changes of PCV and central serous chorioretinopathy have a similar choroidal vascular circulatory disturbance 16 . For the very early stage of the PCV which the choroid shows no pathological changes, recent researches 4 , 5 , 17 cannot tell the difference. However, we found that FV had decreased in the fellow eyes of PCV compared to the controls.…”

Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy: An Update on Diagnosis and Treatment

“…Increased CCFD has been reported not only in eyes with PCV but also in fellow unaffected eyes of PCV. 19 Unlike the retina, the choroid does not have a capillary complex. It is directly exposed to pulsatile blood flow that may result in dilatation of CNV tips leading to polyp formation.…”

Novel Findings of Retinal and Choroidal Features Utilizing Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Analysis in Patients With Autoimmune Posterior Uveitis

“…OCTA has unique advantages in the detection of retinal or choroidal vascular changes, the measurement of foveal avascular zone (FAZ), the quantification of vascular density (VD) in the inner retina, outer retinal circulation, or choriocapillaris. The technique has already been applied in the study of glaucoma ( 2 ) and various kinds of retinopathy, such as central serous choroidopathy ( 3 ), choroidal neovascularization ( 4 ), polypoid choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) ( 5 ), and diabetic retinopathy ( 6 ).…”