BACILLARY LAYER DETACHMENT BECAUSE OF MACULAR NEOVASCULARIZATION.

PURPOSE: To describe the clinical and multimodal imaging features of bacillary layer detachment (BD), and its response to intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, in eyes with macular neovascularization. METHODS: Retrospective, observational case series of 14 eyes (14 patients, 7 men) imaged with eyes (14 patients, 7 men) were imaged with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, and either fluorescein angiography or optical coherence tomography angiography. Therapeutic response was monitored with serial imaging and best-corrected visual acuity assessments. RESULTS: The mean age was 75 ± 13 (range: 45-96) years, with mean follow-up duration of 27 ± 21 (range: 1-56) months. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration was found in 71% (10/14) eyes. Type 2 macular neovascularization lesions were associated with BD in all 14 eyes. Subretinal hemorrhage was noted in 79% (11/14) eyes. BD promptly resolved after intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor therapy in all eyes. The baseline best-corrected visual acuity improved from logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution 0.84 ± 0.32 (Snellen equivalent 20/138) to logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution 0.48 ± 0.31 (Snellen equivalent 20/60) at the last follow-up, with treatment of the macular neovascularization. CONCLUSION: Type 2 macular neovascularization and subretinal hemorrhage are associated with BDs, which may be due to a rapid influx of exudative fluid into the potential space between the external limiting membrane and ellipsoid zone. Intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor therapy results in rapid resolution of BDs and visual improvement in most eyes.

Multimodal Imaging-Based Phenotyping of a Singaporean Hospital-Based Cohort of High Myopia Patients.

Purpose: To assess the effect of axial length (AL) on the prevalence of pathologic myopia (PM) and associated myopic features in a Singaporean hospital-based cohort of patient with high myopia (HM). Methods: In total, 923 HM eyes from 495 individuals were recruited from the Myopic and Pathologic Eyes in Singapore (MyoPES) cohort and underwent ocular biometry, fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence, and swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). Images were analyzed for the presence of myopic macular degeneration (MMD), myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV), myopic traction maculopathy (MTM), peripapillary atrophy (PPA), myopic tilted disc, posterior staphyloma (PS), dome-shaped macula (DSM), vitremacular adhesions (VMA), and the epiretinal membrane (ERM). Eyes were stratified into quartiles based on ALs to determine cut-off values to perform comparisons between shorter-length and longer-length groups. A χ2-test was done to determine the difference in the prevalence of pathologies between groups. Results: Overall, mean AL was 29.2 ± 2.2 mm (range 25.0-36.7 mm). Myopic macular degeneration, PPA, myopic tilted disc, and ERM have AL threshold of ≥27.5 mm, whereas MTM has an AL threshold of ≥29.0 mm. We found that there was a significantly higher prevalence of MMD (88.2 vs. 49.4%; p < 0.001), PPA (98.1 vs. 80.1%; p < 0.001), myopic tilted disc (72.7 vs. 50.2%; p < 0.001), and ERM (81.4 vs. 17.3%; p = 0.003) in eyes with AL ≥ 27.5 mm vs. eyes without AL <27.5 mm. Prevalence of MTM (34.7 vs. 32.1%; p < 0.001), mCNV (17.4 vs. 12.1%; p = 0.03), PS (43.4 vs. 34.7%; p = 0.012), DSM (21.3 vs. 13.2%; p = 0.002), and VMA (5.9 vs. 2.6%; p = 0.014) in eyes with AL ≥ 29.0 mm compared with AL < 29.0 mm. Conclusion: Our study describes the overall prevalence of PM and related pathologies among patients with HM in our hospital-based cohort. Longer eyes even among HM eyes had a significantly higher prevalence of PM-associated pathologies studied. This supports the premise that eyes with longer AL, even among HM eyes may be at greater risk of vision-threatening changes and therefore merit regular follow-up.

Quantitative Assessment of Asymmetric Choroidal Outflow in Pachychoroid Eyes on Ultra-Widefield Indocyanine Green Angiography.

Purpose: To quantitatively demonstrate asymmetric choroidal outflow in pachychoroid (central serous chorioretinopathy [CSC]/pachychoroid pigment epitheliopathy [PPE]) eyes using mid-phase, ultra-widefield indocyanine green angiography (UWF ICGA) images. Methods: Eyes with a clinical diagnosis of CSC/PPE were imaged with multimodal imaging including UWF ICGA (Optos California). Quadrant brightness was measured by manually segmenting based on vortex vein location, calculating the brightness "max-min" value to assess nonuniformity between quadrants, and comparing between CSC/PPE and control eyes. A multivariate linear regression was performed to determine, across individual eyes, which specific quadrants have the greatest brightness in pachychoroid eyes, after taking into account patient-eye-specific variability. Results: Thirty-three eyes (18 patients) with CSC/PPE along with 16 eyes of 9 controls had a mean age of 51.94 ± 9.72 vs. 53.78 ± 17.92 years (P = 0.731), respectively. Max-min analysis showed significantly increased likelihood of nonuniform drainage between vortex veins in both CSC/PPE and control eyes. Multivariate linear regression in control eyes showed that on average, the inferotemporal quadrant was significantly brighter than the superonasal quadrant (9.72 units, P < 0.001). Among CSC/PPE eyes, adjusting for the preferential, nonuniform drainage in control eyes, the inferonasal and inferotemporal quadrants in CSC/PPE eyes remained significantly brighter than the reference quadrant by 5.36 units (P = 0.034) and 7.51 units (P = 0.008), respectively. Conclusions: Asymmetric choroidal venous outflow occurs in both control and CSC/PPE eyes based on UWF ICGA quantitative brightness levels in each quadrant. Increased brightness levels along inferior quadrants in mid-phase ICGA images suggest venous outflow congestion among eyes with CSC or PPE.

Correlation of Quantitative Measurements with Diabetic Disease Severity Using Multiple En Face OCT Angiography Image Averaging.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of averaging en face OCT angiography (OCTA) images on quantitative measurements of the retinal microvasculature and their correlation to diabetic retinopathy (DR) disease severity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred five eyes (65 patients) comprising 28 eyes from 19 healthy, aged-matched control participants, 14 eyes from 9 diabetics without DR, and 63 eyes from 37 diabetics with varying levels of DR. METHODS: Spectral-domain CIRRUS 5000 (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) OCTA images with no macular edema or significant motion artifact were acquired 5 times with the 3 × 3-mm scan pattern. En face images of the superficial retinal layer (SRL) and deep retinal layer were registered and averaged. Vessel length density (VLD), perfusion density (PD), and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) parameters were measured on averaged versus single OCTA images. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Univariate and multivariate linear regression correlated quantitative metrics to DR severity and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). RESULTS: Eighty-four eyes (55 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Almost uniformly, lower VLD and PD parameters were associated significantly with worse DR severity and BCVA. Multivariate linear regression for DR severity resulted in an R2 value of 0.82 and 0.77 for single and averaged groups, respectively. No variables remained associated significantly with DR severity in multivariate analysis with single images, but in averaged images, increased superior SRL PD significantly predicted worse DR severity (coefficient, 52.7; P = 0.026). Multivariate linear regression for BCVA had an R2 value of 0.42 and 0.47 for single and averaged groups, respectively. Foveal avascular zone size was not associated with DR severity when single OCTA images (P = 0.98) were considered, but was highly associated when using averaged images (coefficient, 6.18; P < 0.001). Foveal avascular zone size was predictive for logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution BCVA with averaged images (0.21; P = 0.004), but not with single images (P = 0.31). CONCLUSIONS: Averaging of en face OCTA images improves the visualization of capillaries, particularly increasing the clarity of the FAZ borders, and therefore improves the correlation of vessel density and FAZ-specific parameters to DR severity and BCVA.