Título / Title

ANALYSIS OF THE VARIATION IN MACULAR THICKNESS AND CHOROIDAL THICKNESS WITH SWEPT SOURCE OCT IN PATIENTS WITH EXUDATIVE AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION UNDERGOING INTRAVITREAL INJECTIONS OF AFLIBERCEPT

Introdução / Purpose

In Western countries, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the main causes of visual impairment in individuals over 50 years of age, and in advanced stages it can cause irreversible vision loss.

Material e Método / Methods

To determine and correlate the variation of central and choroidal macular thickness in patients with AMD using OCT-SS in patients undergoing intravitreal injection of aflibercept in a period of three months.
A prospective observational study of a series of cases evaluated in analysis of medical records and performances of OCT Swept Source was carried out.
The sample consisted of 15 treatment-naïve patients diagnosed with monocular exudative AMD.

Resultados / Results

The correlation between pre-macular thickness and post-choroidal thickness was moderate and negative (Pearson's correlation value = -0.533), being statistically significant (p = 0.041). The correlation between premacular thickness and the variation in choroidal thickness was moderate and positive (Pearson's correlation value = 0.581), being statistically significant (p = 0.023). It is observed that patients with greater macular thickness prior to treatment would be more likely to have reduced choroidal thickness in general. Such comparisons, not previously seen in the literature, could complement OCT analysis on treatment response.

Discussão e Conclusões / Conclusion

After treatment with intravitreal injections of aflibercept, patients showed significantly better visual outcomes. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was significantly correlated with visual outcome and there was a positive response to treatment after intravitreal injection of aflibercept in patients with neovascular AMD. In addition, macular thickness was significantly reduced in the statistical analysis when compared to baseline. Correlations were also obtained between macular and choroidal thickness, possibly suggesting a new objective parameter to be evaluated in the analysis of response to treatment with intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF in patients with neovascular AMD.

Palavras Chave

Exudative Age-related Macular Degeneration. Aflibercept. Macular thickness. Choroidal thickness. Swept Source OCT.

Area

CLINICAL RETINA