Risk Factors for Focal Choroidal Excavation Concurrent with Chorioretinal Disease: Evaluated by Spectral-Domain OCT.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Diseases
• Choroidal Imaging

Background:

• Focal choroidal excavation (FCE) is a recognized condition affecting the choroid.
• Understanding FCE's risk factors and associations with other chorioretinal diseases is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate risk factors associated with focal choroidal excavation (FCE).
• To determine the correlation between FCE and various chorioretinal diseases.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cross-sectional study involving patients with FCE and a healthy control group.
• Multimodal imaging and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) were used to analyze FCE parameters.
• Manual measurements of subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), subexcavation choroidal thickness (SECT), excavation depth, and width were performed.

Main Results:

• Twenty-one patients with FCE were analyzed, with 28 affected eyes.
• Complicated FCE cases (e.g., with choroidal neovascularization) were associated with older age, wider excavations, and a higher prevalence of hypertransmission defects (HD).
• Significantly reduced SFCT was observed in FCE eyes compared to healthy controls.

Conclusions:

• Focal choroidal excavation is strongly associated with chorioretinal disorders.
• The width of the excavation serves as a significant indicator for assessing the risk of developing associated chorioretinal diseases.