Optical coherence tomography angiography of myopic choroidal neovascularisation

Background/aims

To describe the morphological features of choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) and to report the ability of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) to detect the presence of myopic CNV by means of this new technique.

Methods

Myopic CNV cases were individuated from a pool of patients with pathological myopia consecutively presenting between October 2015 and March 2016. OCT-A images were assessed for classification of morphological features, and to estimate sensitivity and specificity.

Results

Thirty-six eyes of 28 consecutive patients with myopic CNV were included. In 4 out of 36 eyes it was not possible to classify the CNV 'shape', 'core', 'margin' and 'appearance' because the vascular network was not clearly visualised due to the poor quality of the examination. CNV shape on OCT-A was rated as circular in 9 eyes and irregular in 23 eyes. CNV core was visible in 11 eyes. CNV margin was considered as well defined in 16 eyes and poorly defined in 16 eyes. CNV appearance showed an 'interlacing' aspect in 16 eyes and a 'tangled' aspect in the other 16 eyes. A total of 11 CNVs were defined as active, 9 of which (81.8%) were interlacing, while a total of 21 were inactive, 14 of which (66.7%) were tangled. OCT-A sensitivity turned out to be 90.48% and specificity was 93.75%.

Conclusions

We describe the OCT-A features of myopic CNV secondary to pathological myopia and demonstrate its high sensitivity and specificity for neovascular detection. Qualitative evaluation of OCT-A characteristics may allow one to recognise different patterns, possibly corresponding to different degrees of neovascular activity.

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