Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography of Shallow Irregular Pigment Epithelial Detachments In Pachychoroid Spectrum Disease

PURPOSE: To determine the proportion of shallow irregular pigment epithelial detachments in eyes with pachychoroid features that harbor neovascular tissue and to study the morphology of this tissue with optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography.

DESIGN: Prospective consecutive cohort study.

METHODS: Patients with pachychoroid spectrum diagnoses and shallow irregular pigment epithelial detachment in at least 1 eye (study eye) were included. Charts and multimodal imaging were reviewed to determine a dye angiography detection rate for type 1 neovascularization in study eyes. All patients then underwent OCT angiography prospectively, followed by masked segmentation and grading.

RESULTS: Twenty-two eyes of 16 patients were included. Mean age was 71 (range 57-95) years. Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 381 μm (standard deviation: 141 μm). Four out of 22 study eyes (18%) exhibited polypoidal lesions. Dye angiography demonstrated specific features of neovascularization in 5 out of 17 eyes (29%) with suspected nonpolypoidal pachychoroid neovasculopathy. With OCT angiography, type 1 neovascular tissue was visualized in 21 out of 22 study eyes (95%).

CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that, in eyes with pachychoroid features, the finding of a shallow irregular pigment epithelial detachment on OCT has greater diagnostic value for type 1 neovascularization than previously thought and that dye angiography may underestimate the prevalence of neovascularization compared to OCT angiography.