British Journal of Ophthalmology 2008;92:1642-1647
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Photodynamic therapy with verteporfin for age-related macular degeneration or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: comparison of the presence of serous retinal pigment epithelial detachment
Department of Ophthalmology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan
Correspondence to:
Dr M Saito, Department of Ophthalmology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan; smasaaki{at}fmu.ac.jp
Aim: To evaluate outcomes after photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin in Japanese patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and compare results with the presence/absence of a retinal pigment epithelial detachment (PED).
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 183 eyes with subfoveal choroidal neovascularisation secondary to AMD with more than 3 months follow-up (range 3 to 36; mean 15.6). A serous PED developed in 44 of 183 eyes.
Results: A total of 124 eyes (67.8%) completed 12 months follow-up. In 49 eyes with typical AMD, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved a mean of 0.48 line. A significant (p<0.05 to p<0.0005) decline in VA occurred in eyes with a serous PED during any 3-month period. In 75 eyes with PCV, the BCVA at 12 months improved a mean of 1.79 lines. There was no significant difference between the BCVA in 22 eyes with a PED and 53 eyes without a PED during any 3 months.
Conclusions: In eyes with typical AMD, a serous PED was associated with a significant decline in BCVA compared with eyes without a serous PED. In eyes with PCV, the visual outcomes were unaffected by a serous PED. When PDT is administered, differentiating PCV from typical AMD using indocyanine green angiography is important.
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