Título / Title

SUBFOVEAL CHOROIDAL THICKNESS IN EYES WITH NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION TREATED WITH ANTI-VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR AGENTS

Introdução / Purpose

We aimed to assess the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFChT) and the effect of treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents on the SFChT in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) subtypes.

Material e Método / Methods

We enrolled 128 eyes of 107 patients with neovascular AMD (60 women; 47 men; mean age, 73.6 ± 8.9 years), and prospectively evaluated the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and SFChT at baseline, and 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment with anti-VEGF agents. Patients were assigned to the typical AMD, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), and retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) subgroups.

Resultados / Results

In total, 85 (66.4%), 31 (24.2%), and 12 (9.4%) eyes were assigned to the typical AMD, PCV, and RAP subgroups, respectively. The baseline mean BCVA was 0.75  0.26, 0.72  0.21, and 0.77  0.24 logMAR in the typical AMD, PCV, and RAP subgroups, respectively (p=0.774). The baseline mean SFChT was 203.20  35.80, 271.80  24.50, and 182.93  31.31 µm in the typical AMD, PCV, and RAP subgroups, respectively (p<0.001). Mean SFChT significantly decreased from baseline to 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment. The RAP subtype presented a significantly higher decrease in SFChT as compared to the other subtypes (p=0.01). The percentage reduction in SFChT was not significantly correlated with the number of injections (r=-0.02; p=0.823). No association was observed between baseline SFChT and final visual acuity at 12 months (r=0.0; p=0.586).

Discussão e Conclusões / Conclusion

SFChT was greatest in eyes with PCV and least in eyes with RAP. The reduction in SFChT after treatment was greater in the RAP cases. The decrease in SFChT after 12 months of anti-VEGF treatment was not associated with the number of injections and there was no correlation between the baseline SFChT and visual acuity in all AMD subtypes.

Palavras Chave

AMD, anti-VEGF treatment, Subfoveal choroidal thickness.