Result of photodynamic therapy for idiopathic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization

To investigate the factors that affect final vision following photodynamic therapy (PDT) for idiopathic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV).

A retrospective review of 16 patients whose eyes were diagnosed as idiopathic subfoveal CNV and were followed up for a minimum of 9 months. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate relationships between sex, age, size of the lesion, and initial vision compared to final vision.

In the PDT group (10 eyes), the mean age of the patients was 34 years, mean size of the lesion was 1300 microm, mean initial vision was 20/60, and 7 of the 10 patients (70%) showed more than a two-line improvement in vision. Factors affecting final vision were sex (p=0.049), initial vision (p=0.0455), and size of the lesion (p=0.006). In the observation group (6 eyes), the mean age of the patients was 39 years, mean size of the lesion was 575 microm, mean initial vision was 20/32, and 5 of the 6 patients (83%) showed more than a two-line improvement in vision.

The prognosis of idiopathic CNV was favorable as was reported in other studies. In the PDT group, statistically significant factors affecting final vision were initial vision, size of the lesion, and sex. However, since the number of patients sampled was insufficient and the average size of the lesions in the female patients was smaller, the size of the lesion seems to be the most important factor.