Swept‐source optical coherence tomography angiography features of sub‐retinal fibrosis in neovascular age‐related macular degeneration

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: The study highlights the role of optical coherence angiography in the management of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) who have developed sub-retinal fibrosis. BACKGROUND: Development of sub-retinal fibrosis in the context of nAMD is known to adversely affect visual function. The aim of this study is to assess structure and flow features obtained through swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with sub-retinal fibrosis and associate these with visual acuity (VA). DESIGN: Institutional retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: A total 39 eyes of 39 patients with nAMD with sub-retinal fibrosis imaged with OCTA were included in this study. METHODS: Patients underwent swept-source OCTA. Thickness of sub-retinal hyper-reflective material (SHRM) and presence and configuration of a choroidal neovascular membrane were recorded in each case. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A univariate multiple regression was performed seeking associations between VA and structural and flow OCTA features. RESULTS: Average VA on the date of OCTA was 53 ± 22 ETDRS letters. Average thickness of centre-involving SHRM was 157 ± 73 μm. A choroidal neovascular membrane was detectable in 26 cases and not detectable in 13. VA was independently influenced by thickness of SHRM (P = 0.034) and presence of a detectable choroidal neovascular membrane (P = 0.02) on OCTA. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Poorer VA in patients with nAMD and sub-retinal fibrosis is associated with presence of a detectable neovascular membrane on OCTA. The role of OCTA to guide nuanced management decisions in this patient population may be significant.