Optical coherence tomography angiography in the diagnosis of choroidal neovascular membrane

Abstract

Aim To evaluate the ability to diagnose and identify the morphologic features of choroidal neovascular membranes by optical coherence tomography angiography. Patients and methods Prospective, observational study of patients with Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) attending the outpatient clinic of Mansoura Ophthalmic Center. For all patients fluorescein angiography (FA), spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and swept source optical coherence tomography angiography were done. The results were analyzed and compared. Results This study included 23 eyes of 23 patients. Seven eyes had age-related CNV and 16 eyes had myopic CNV. Activity was evident in 20 cases with dye leakage in FA and fluid accumulation in SD-OCT, while in the other three cases, no active dye leakage was present in FA in one of them with minimal fluid in structural OCT; in the other cases, structural OCT showed minimal intraretinal fluid in one case and absent intraretinal fluid in the other case. Regarding cases with evident activity in fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and OCT, in two cases neovascular network was evident with glomerular appearance. In 18 cases, densely interlaced network of vessels was evident. In three cases without evident activity in other imaging modalities, the membrane appeared as a tangled network with filamentous vessels and loss of small branches. Conclusion OCT angiography is a noninvasive, safe imaging tool for the diagnosis of CNV which gives information about the accurate size and localization of the membrane. It is a nonexpensive and rapid method that can be used for the diagnosis, screening of patients at risk, differentiate between active and inactive membranes, and follow-up.

Keywords

• CNV
• OCT
• SD-OCT