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Choroidal structures in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, neovascular age-related maculopathy, and healthy eyes determined by binarization of swept source optical coherence tomographic images

  • Retinal Disorders
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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate quantitatively the choroidal vascularity in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients compared to healthy controls.

Methods

All eyes underwent swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT), and choroidal images were binarized into blood vessels lumen and stroma. The choroidal vascular index (CVI) was defined as the ratio of luminal area (LA) over total choroidal area of the subfoveal region with a width of 1500 μm.

Results

The study included 73 patients with neovascular AMD or PCV with mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of 71.8 ± 9.3 years, which was older than the mean age of 65.1 ± 10.8 years of 72 healthy eyes from control group (p < 0.01). The 44 PCV eyes had significantly higher mean SFCT of 214.23 ± 95.21 μm than neovascular AMD eyes (172.74 ± 96.48 μm, p = 0.03) and greater luminal area (0.23 ± 0.09 mm2 vs. 0.19 ± 0.08 mm2, p = 0.05). After adjusting for age, axial length, and gender in multivariate regression analysis, the SFCT of PCV and neovascular AMD eyes were not significantly different from healthy eyes (195.55 ± 93.11 μm), but the CVI of both PCV (64.94 ± 5.43%, p = 0.01) and neovascular AMD (62.54 ± 5.57%, p = <0.01) were significantly lower than control (68.53 ± 5.91%).

Conclusion

Despite physiological changes of choroidal vasculature due to aging, the choroidal morphology is different in PCV, neovascular AMD and healthy eyes, which has implication on disease pathogenesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 4/F Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Mongkok, Hong Kong, SAR, China

    Malini Bakthavatsalam, Danny Siu-Chun Ng, Fang Yao Tang, Mårten Erik Brelén, Chi Wai Tsang, Timothy Yuk-Yau Lai & Carol Yim-Lui Cheung

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Caritas Medical Centre, New Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Frank Hiu-Ping Lai

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong

    Mårten Erik Brelén

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  1. Malini Bakthavatsalam
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Correspondence to Danny Siu-Chun Ng.

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Bakthavatsalam, M., Ng, D.SC., Lai, F.HP. et al. Choroidal structures in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, neovascular age-related maculopathy, and healthy eyes determined by binarization of swept source optical coherence tomographic images. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 255, 935–943 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-017-3591-3

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