Choroidal analysis of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy by spectral domain optical coherence tomography

This study was designed to measure the changes in the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and choroidal maximal vessel diameter (MVD) of the affected and unaffected fellow eyes in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and compare them to healthy controls.

In this cross-sectional observational clinical study, SFCT and MVD were measured in both eyes of 53 patients with unilateral PCV. PCV eyes were subgrouped into group A and unaffected fellow eyes into group B. All patients were diagnosed with PCV by fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA). Sixty age- and gender-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in the control group (group C).

No statistical difference was observed among groups in age and gender. Overall, SFCT was correlated with MVD in all subjects (P < 0.001; correlation coefficient: 0.759). P values were < 0.001 with a correlation coefficient of 0.686, 0.801, and 0.808 in groups A, B, and C, respectively. No statistical significance was noted in SFCT among groups A (266.45 ± 99.51 μm),B(269.57 ± 105.10 μm), and C (243.83 ± 99.68 μm) (P = 0.335). However, the. MVD in group, A was (202.55 ±72.45 μm), significantly larger than that in group C (166.45 ± 56.18 μm, P = 0.008), while the MVD in group B (194.75 ± 85.27 μm) was equally significantly greater than that in group C (166.45 ± 56.18 μm) (P = 0.038).

For both PCV patients and healthy subjects, SFCT was positively correlated with MVD. No statistical significance was noted in SFCT between PCV eyes and unaffected fellow/normal eyes. However, MVD was significantly larger in the PCV affected eyes than in unaffected fellow or normal control eyes, suggesting that MVD could be considered as a sensitive indicator to evaluate choroidal perfusion in PCV patients.