PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Colin SH Tan
AU  - Wei Kiong Ngo
AU  - Louis W Lim
AU  - Tock Han Lim
TI  - A novel classification of the vascular patterns of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and its relation to clinical outcomes
AID  - 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2014-305059
DP  - 2014 Nov 01
TA  - British Journal of Ophthalmology
PG  - 1528--1533
VI  - 98
IP  - 11
4099  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/98/11/1528.short
4100  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/98/11/1528.full
SO  - Br J Ophthalmol2014 Nov 01; 98
AB  - Purpose To propose a novel classification system for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), and compare the clinical outcomes among PCV subtypes. Methods Consecutive treatment-naive patients with symptomatic PCV were managed over 5 years. PCV subtypes were classified based on indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) and fluorescein angiography (FA) characteristics. Results Among 107 patients, 3 PCV subtypes were seen: Type A (interconnecting channels on ICGA) –22.4%; Type B (branching vascular network with no leakage) –24.3%; Type C (branching vascular network with late leakage on FA) –53.3%. The proportion of patients with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ≥20/40 was highest in Type A, intermediate in Type B and lowest in Type C at all time points (80% vs 66.7% vs 7.7% at 5 years, p<0.001). The highest rate of moderate visual loss (loss of ≥3 lines) occurred in Type C PCV (57.7% vs 0% for Types B and A at 5 years, p<0.001). Risk factors for poor visual outcomes were PCV subtype (OR 53.7, p<0.001 for Type C and OR 13.7, p=0.023 for Type B compared to Type A) and age (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.002 to 1.125, p=0.044). Conclusions The PCV subtype seen on initial presentation affects the long-term visual outcomes over a 5-year period.